The Wrong One
by BananaphoneBob
Summary: He never wanted the boy. The boy was simply a diversion, an easier way to get the one he really wanted. She was the one whose body he longed for, not the idiotic male who wanted nothing more than power. If only they realised that before he made his move..
1. Never Be Forgotten

**Hellooo! I randomly came up with this because I got very, very bored and I was very, very tired, so decided to write it. It won't be my best work, and it is NOT part of the songfic collection I wrote about when I did 'Apologize'. This is a story that I wanted to write okay? No songs…clear? Good good**

**Now, on with the story!!**

**Summary:**** He never wanted the boy. The boy was simply a diversion, a way to make it easier to get the one he really wanted. She was the one whose body he longed for, not the egotistical male who wanted nothing more than power. If only they realised that before he made his final move.**

**Pairings:**** SasuSaku, NaruHina, maybe some NejiTen and ShikaIno**

**Set:**** Just after Sasuke joined Orochimaru, and before Shippuuden. **

**Chapter 1: Never be Forgiven**

The rain pelted down on the window for the third time that week – for the third time since _he_ left.

She never thought she could feel so incomplete and insecure, but his sudden departure proved just how low she could sink. Once again, she picked up the picture enclosed safely inside the wooden frame, protected, and out of harms way. Just like her once. She stared blankly for a minute as she realised that she just compared herself to a photo frame, and continued to hold it, careful not to damage its contents in any way.

Her fragile thumb delicately brushed over his face, and she couldn't help but smile, even a little. His black hair that resembled a chicken's butt, his onyx eyes that you couldn't help but get lost in, and his expressionless face that made her heart break. She daren't say his name, even think it, as she knew that what parts of her heart had managed to stick itself back together, would just be shattered a thousand times over again.

Carefully, she placed the picture of Team 7 down, and walked over to her window. She stretched her hand out on the glass, and looked out, knowing fully well that the tears were coming back again.

She didn't mind, of course, crying had become almost a ritual to her now. She hadn't stopped crying for more than an hour since he decided to leave her. She knew there was no point – she knew tears weren't going to bring him back, yet she continued to shed them and planned to do so until she'd ran out of tears.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't stop.

She pushed away from the glass weakly and slowly edged towards her soft, comfortable bed. At first she merely sat on the edge, staring at her feet as they dangled off the side. Then, as a rush of tiredness swept over her, and her tears were beginning to stop, she leant backwards and lay down on it, now staring at the ceiling, thinking of the night he left her.

The night he abandoned her on that bench.

The night the love of her life became her enemy.

Before she realised, she curled up and closed her eyes, knowing fully well that she would not rest easily that night. She had been deprived of sleep since her dear Sasuke-kun discarded her like a piece of rubbish he'd kept in his pocket for the majority of his life so far.

* * *

He still hadn't gotten quite used to the labyrinth-like halls of Orochimaru's hideout yet, and it shocked him that after a week around here he _still_ hadn't figured out where he was going.

The raven haired boy wandered aimlessly through the corridors, turning right and left occasionally, just to see where he'd end up.

He wasn't a curious boy, he just seemed to have a lot of spare time now he wasn't in Konoha anymore.

Konoha.

The name of that village sent minor chills down his spine. Even an egotistical selfish child like himself couldn't quite get his head around the fact that he was now classed as an S-Rank criminal.

'_I wasn't expecting to be an S-Rank criminal until I at least reached 15.'_ He thought to himself.

A hiss echoed around the passage he was currently walking down, and interrupting him from his thoughts. He knew Orochimaru must be around here somewhere, so he continued his walk.

"I cannot wait to get the Sasuke-kun training. I've waited so long for this, so long for a suitable vessel! I only hope he can truly fulfil what I want."

The onyx-eyed boy stopped abruptly, and knew exactly what Orochimaru was talking about. He backed away slowly, not wanting to hear about this. He only wanted to know what he knew already, which was very little. Careful to mask his chakra and make quiet footsteps, he ran quickly back down the corridors he recently came through, almost as if he knew where he was going, and somehow ended up back at his room. He went inside, out of breath, and shut the door quietly. He may have been a good couple of miles from where he had just been standing, but there was something about Orochimaru that, even though he never admitted it, unnerved him.

-x-

Orochimaru smiled evilly beneath his long black hair. Kabuto chuckled slightly to himself as he continued to fiddle with random hospital equipment. "You are very lucky to have a boy like Sasuke, it's definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity, I'll admit."

Orochimaru sniggered and leaned his head back against the wall behind his bed. After a few seconds he turned back to watch Kabuto.

"He's gone, master. He must've run back to his room once he overheard our conversation."

A smirked escaped Kabuto's lips as he said this, and soon found a needle which he checked for and dirty marks.

"Good. And we would rather like to keep it that way, Kabuto. If he found out about our actual plan, well, then I wouldn't be able to use him would I? He would probably deny it, but deep down he would want to kill me for who I was _really_ going to use."

"I sent another pigeon spy a few hours ago. She seemed alright, crying, as per usual, about Sasuke-kun, but otherwise healthy and still a suitable candidate for your vessel."

Orochimaru laughed this time, and licked his lips with his snake-like tongue. "Good, I cannot wait to get her. With her hidden strength and skills, with some training she would be … perfect."

"Exactly where we'd want her, master." Kabuto placed the needle back on the tray and turned to face Orochimaru, his glasses reflecting in the dim ceiling light.

"Yes, she will soon be mine. And nobody would dare get in the way of my new vessel…"

Kabuto smirked and finished Orochimaru's sentence, before they burst into a hysterical fit of laughter.

"…Haruno Sakura…"

**Okay, in my opinion it was kinda crap, but it's up to you and whatever you think, just please REVIEW! I was determined to finish this chapter before I went to bed, so that's why the ending is pretty lame. **

**Sorry about making Sasuke sound OOC, I just can't write about someone as…emo-ish and egotistical as him … it's harder than it looks.**

**And sorry about how pervy Orochimaru sounds. I couldn't help the way I said things, and then I re-read it and didn't know how to change it and…yeah…**

**Well, any complaints or comments, please, please, PLEASE review this story! Reviews are my only motivation! (Good reviews, mind =p)**

**TOODLEPIP!**

**-x-Emma-x-**


	2. A Mission Recieved

**Hello people!. When I re-read the first chapter again I realised how many mistakes there were and realised how Kabuto and Orochimaru and pretty much everyone was very OOC, so I'm sorry for that. **

**Disclaimer: Nothing but the storyline is mine!**

**Anyway, on with the story!**

**Chapter 2: A Mission Received…**

**Four years later …**

For the first time in a few weeks, the sun shined down on Konoha. Birds sang, people spoke to one another, and a certain pink haired kunoichi slowly made her way down the path, watching the ground at all times and only looking up when she heard a loud-mouthed blonde ninja call her name.

"SAKURAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-CHAN!"

The kunoichi was surprised at how realistic her smile came out, as not even Naruto could see through it. "Hey, Naruto. What's going on?" She said, trying to sound as interested as possible.

Naruto grinned widely, seemingly impressed with himself for making her 'smile'. "We need to report to Granny Tsunade's office, apparently we've got a mission!"

Sakura's eyes widened momentarily, before quickly resuming her normal posture. "Really? But we don't have a … third teammate …"

She soon regretted saying that as she could already feel the flood of tears on its way, and she refused to let them out. Not here. Not in front of Naruto. She glanced down at the pavement, while Naruto looked at her with soft eyes. He knew he'd lost somebody that was like a brother to him, and it was hard getting over that, but for Sakura, it was an entirely different story.

Naruto coughed slightly, suggesting that they need to get a move on, but allowing Sakura to go at whatever pace she wanted.

If there was one thing Sakura didn't want, it was people feeling sorry for her. She looked back up, a fake gleam in her eyes, and put on the most reasonable smile she could. "C'mon, Naruto. I'll race you!" She said quickly and ran off towards the huge tower.

Naruto looked on for a few more seconds, thinking about how much he missed the old Sakura and how much he'll hurt the Teme for it when they bring him back, before he too ran after Sakura, laughing to himself along the way.

Once Naruto reached the office, he found that an out of breath Sakura was waiting for him outside. Or, that's what he thought she was doing.

"Tsunade-sama's in there with Kakashi-sensei. She's giving him the brief of the mission and she's also telling him who the other member of our team will be. We're gonna go in soon."

Naruto nodded, trying to catch his breath, and leaning up against the wall. Suddenly, from behind him, came a husky laugh and a couple of high-pitched barks. Sakura and Naruto turned to see Kiba and Akamaru wandering up the stairs, both grinning amusedly.

"Hey Naruto, never thought Sakura could make you pant that hard." Kiba said as a devilish smirk appeared on his face. For a short moment, Sakura forgot about her troubles as she hit Kiba around the head, whilst reminding him that he should not speak like that in front of women.

Once she finished and continued leaning against the wall with her eyes closed, Kiba rolled his own eyes and looked at Tsunade's door.

"Why are you two just standing outside? Aren't you normally supposed to _enter_ the office to talk to her?"

Naruto glared at him playfully. "We would've, but apparently Granny Tsunade's giving Kakashi-sensei the brief of our mission. Why are you here?"

"Your mission? Ah, looks like I'm your … I'm your third teammate …" He wished he didn't have to say those words to them, as he sympathised with them for losing their teammate and best friend. Even after four years, it was still a harsh blow to them whenever it was mentioned.

Just as he'd expected, an awkward silence erupted between the three of them, and it remained that way until Kakashi opened the door, causing the three ninjas and dog to look up at the approaching man.

"Yo! You can come in now; I know what I need to know!" He said with a short wave, before he walked back inside, followed by his two students, Kiba and Akamaru.

Tsunade looked at the three chuunin, all with determination written on their faces. She stopped as she reached the pink-haired girl, whose face was full of emotions – none of which particularly good. She sighed inwardly. She didn't want to have to give them this mission. She suddenly cursed loudly at every other team that was out on a mission, before realising that it didn't just stay inside her mind. Shizune stared without blinking, Tonton, who was once resting peacefully in said girl's arms, now woke and squealed loudly, and Sakura, Naruto and Kiba stared in shock, since all they had done was walk in the room. Kakashi just looked amused at the situation in front of him.

"Are you … feeling okay, Shishou?"

"Umm, yes, thank you Sakura. I just … ran out of Sake. Shizune." Tsunade replied, shaking her cup at Shizune, while Shizune just sighed and placed Tonton on the ground and took the cup, glancing worriedly at the three genin before leaving the room.

"Yo Granny, what's the mission!?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and bumped Naruto on the head painfully, before nodding towards Tsunade to continue. Tsunade placed her elbows on the table, bringing her hands up in front of her face.

"Thank you, Sakura. Now, your mission is going to be tough. I selected you three because, simply, there was nobody else that I could give the mission to. All other teams are out, so you three were the best candidates. No matter how much the elders try to convince me that this is an A Rank mission, I think you should be on the alert for more like an S Rank mission. This mission could involve death, trauma, Akatsuki and … Orochimaru."

Before she had a chance to continue, Naruto had already started off.

"Really?! Will we find Sasuke? Will Sasuke be there? What is the mission? Why the Akatsuki? TELL US THE MISSION GRANNY!"

"Naruto … let her finish …"

The sudden change in Sakura's mood was almost horrific. Naruto stopped immediately and stared at her, blinking a few times. Her head was lowered slightly, her eyes were closed, and her fists were clenched tightly. She shook slightly too, although Naruto was unable to tell if that was due to _his_ name being said or the fact that every window in the room was open fully.

"…Again, thank you, Sakura. I realise this will be hard for you all, especially Team Kakashi," She glanced at him. "But I really need you all to focus on the mission. To answer your questions, Naruto, yes, your mission will involve that, If Orochimaru is there, then most likely, same to the next question, and I'm telling you the mission now. We have reports from some ANBU squads that Orochimaru is currently back at his old hideout, the one where you first saw Sasuke-san since his departure. Those ANBU teams are at present on different missions, which is why I have formed this team. You are to go to this hideout, infiltrate it, defeat Orochimaru and Kabuto, and, if possible, retrieve Sasuke. You are expected to finish this mission within 14 days. If you need longer, Kakashi, you inform me. You will be leaving as soon as possible today, in an hour at most. I wish you all the best with your entire mission. And for anyone you bring back. But be warned: there are also reports that Kabuto has been working for Akatsuki too, so if you see or fight any of them, you must keep Naruto away and stay alive. Do you all have the mission?"

Team Kakashi uttered "Hai" before disappearing into thin air. Tsunade stood by the window briefly as she saw Sakura appear at the main gate to Konoha, already having equipment and clothes that she may need. Her eyes softened as she watched Sakura sit on the ground, looking at nothing but the floor beneath her.

"Please be okay, Sakura. Remember what I've taught you."

**Chapter two complete. I know it's kinda short, but I just wanted to get the mission out of the way. If anyone is confused as to why they are Chuunin, it is four years later. So they're all going to be Chuunin because I say so =) **

**One review = one paragraph in my next chapter. Think about that if you like this story and don't review it =)**

**Please R&R!!**

**Toodles!**

**-x-Emma-x-**


	3. Danger Ahead

**Okay, I am writing this chapter now purely because it was demanded by **_**bluehinata96**_**, who really seemed to like the story. Also, thanks to **_**TheUnforgivenFool**_** and **_**PC Princess Jad3**_** for reviewing the last chapter! You're opinions do count and are the only reason I continue writing, so thanks!**

**Disclaimer: It's called FANfiction for a reason.**

**Anyhoo, on with the chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

_**Previously, on 'The Wrong One'…**_

_Team Kakashi uttered "Hai" before disappearing into thin air. Tsunade stood by the window briefly as she saw Sakura appear at the main gate to Konoha, already having equipment and clothes that she may need. Her eyes softened as she watched Sakura sit on the ground, looking at nothing but the floor beneath her. _

"_Please be okay, Sakura. Remember what I've taught you."_

**Chapter 3: Danger Ahead**

After fifteen very slow, long minutes, the rest of Team Kakashi arrived, with the exception of Kakashi, of course. Kiba and Naruto walked quickly towards me, as if silently challenging themselves to see who could walk to me the fastest. I watched them for a while (partly out of humour, mainly out of annoyance), before glancing down at the watch that Tsunade had got me for my birthday last year. Kiba seemed to have got the signal and started to jog towards me, which lead to Naruto being in full pursuit, charging past Kiba and arriving towards me in record time.

"Hey Sakura-chan! You're here early."

I sighed and looked into his overly-enthusiastic blue eyes. "No, I was here on time, you were just late."

Naruto faltered slightly, taken aback by the irritation in my voice. I sighed once again and turned to Kiba, who was currently playing with Akamaru.

"I don't suppose either of you saw Kakashi-sensei on your way here did you? Maybe as he was helping an old lady cross the street or ogling the 'Come Come Paradise' billboard perhaps?"

Kiba shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. "Nah, we didn't see him. It would be far too early for him to be here yet."

Naruto grumbled something about that being right and I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit.

After an even longer 25 minutes, the silver-haired genin appeared next to Naruto, causing him to yelp very loudly. I rolled my eyes as Kiba suppressed a chuckle, before Kakashi gave us a little speech about why he was late this time (and I'm sure I've heard the excuse before … a couple of years ago maybe?).

"Stop the lying, Kakashi-sensei! We all know you're just late because of "Come Come Paradise", so don't bother trying to tell us otherwise!"

I hit Naruto over the head, and Kakashi merely scratched his neck, "Hehe, well, no, that's not _entirely_ true … you see –"

I coughed deliberately, as I could tell Naruto was going to start yelling again, and I could tell that Kakashi took the hint, and stopped in his tracks.

"Never mind… we should get going."

And with that, Kiba, Akamaru, Kakashi, Naruto and I set off into the forest, ready to face the oncoming dangers that could very well kill us all.

* * *

It was getting dark, and it wasn't too long before Kakashi signalled over to a relatively empty space between the trees, where we could set up camp for the night.

"Right. We are about a day away from Amegakure, and about two days away from Orochimaru's old hideout, so we need to figure out a plan. Tomorrow, we will be in disguises, just to be on the lookout for any of Orochimaru's men. Now, of course, Sakura, you will need a wig or hair dye, both of which Tsunade provided for you, and you should wear non-ninja attire. I trust you brought something with you."

I nodded and opened my bag to reveal one of my favourite outfits. It was a crimson red T-Shirt with one cherry blossom on the top left, and a casual white skirt, not too different to my original ninja outfit, but different enough to not know it was me.

"Good. Tsunade-sama has also prepared some contact lenses for you, since Orochimaru's followers tend to be very observant. The same goes to you, Naruto. Tsunade has given you make-up to hide your whiskers, and you have a wig and contacts too. I'm assuming you have another outfit, so I'll move on.

"Kiba, since Orochimaru hasn't had as much contact with you, I think just the make-up and clothes should suffice. Be careful with Akamaru; make sure he stays calm and relatively quiet if you should ever come across one of Orochimaru's people. Okay, I think that's pretty much it, so now we should probably get some rest. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

"What about you, Sensei? What are you doing?"

"Don't worry about me, Naruto. Focus on the mission and your tasks. Now goodn-"

Kakashi stopped abruptly, which caused our heads to turn and look at him. He sat very still and very silent, as I could feel his chakra disappearing as he concealed it. I soon realised what the problem was and quickly hid mine too, signalling for Kiba and Naruto to do the same.

Someone had followed us.

And judging by his chakra …

I knew all too well who it was.

**And chapter 3 is done! Sorry it's a bit shorter than the others (I think…) But I was running out of things to say. And OOOOOOOO A cliffhanger! Don't you just hate me right now? (But please still review!!!)**

**I got 19 reviews for chapter 2, and I made 33 paragraphs. Your reviews really do motivate me to write for longer and make it better. (Especially you bluehinata96!)**

**Please please please please PLEASE review!! Reviews = updates!**

**I appreciate favourites and alerts, but they don't specifically tell me what you like/don't like. Just that you want to read it. If you can take the time to do that, PLEASE take just a couple of moments longer to just say "cool" or "nice" or something!**

**Toodles!!**

**-x-Emma-x-**


	4. Realization

**Hello again!!! I'm writing this chapter on an impulse, because I'm bored and feel like writing a fight scene no matter how rubbish it is =) Sorry I haven't updated earlier; two weeks ago I was in Disneyland Paris (boohyeah!) Then I had my dad's birthday, then the weekend just gone I met Carlisle from Twilight!!! (I'm still in shock at his hotness ;p) and next weeks my 16****th**** Birthday, so I'm getting hyped up for that! So yeah, sorry it's been kinda slow lately … July's a busy month even if I haven't been in school since June 10****th**** … hehe anyway … here's chapter 4 =)**

**P.S: Sorry to **_**Satsujin Akuma**_ **for the slowness of this chapter again, I really apologize =)**

**Disclaimer****: Fillers in the Anime wouldn't exist if I owned Naruto**

**Enjoy!!**

_**Previously, on 'The Wrong One'...**_

_Kakashi stopped abruptly, which caused our heads to turn and look at him. He sat very still and very silent, as I could feel his chakra disappearing as he concealed it. I soon realised what the problem was and quickly hid mine too, signalling for Kiba and Naruto to do the same._

_Someone had followed us._

_And judging by his chakra …_

_I knew all too well who it was._

**Chapter 4: Realization**

We stood silently, not even daring to breathe out loud, being on our guard the whole time. I heard Naruto swallow and briefly glanced over to him before going back to my original posture. He looks terrified; since he can't read chakra as well as I can I know he isn't sure who has followed us; just that someone has.

I bit my bottom lip as I waited for him to show himself, curiosity and impatience being two of my weakest points. I narrowed my eyes slightly as I tried to locate whereabouts his chakra was coming from, so that I could reduce the time we had to wait for him.

I took a deep breath in and concentrated as much as possible on finding the man I hated with a vengeance, only to find that his chakra seemed to be everywhere at once, as if he knew we wouldn't find him even though we knew he was there; taunting us.

After some very long minutes, his voice broke out through the trees, echoing around us.

"Can't find me huh? Always knew you weren't the brightest ninja around but really … even you, Kakashi? You all disappoint me."

You could practically hear him shaking his head at us, as he appeared between two relatively large trees right in front of me, walking slowly; antagonising us.

"Kabuto."

It was then he shook his head and pushed his glasses further up his nose, looking up at us, causing what was left of the light in the sky to reflect off of them, and I briefly wondered how he could see at all while that happened.

It was brief, however, because he threw Shuriken.

Right towards me.

And if Kiba hadn't been paying full attention and pushed me out of the way in time, I may have just been killed in the most pathetic way possible.

Curse me and my short attention span.

I stood back up before muttering a quick 'thank you' to Kiba before he, Akamaru, Naruto, Kakashi and I leapt away from Kabuto and hid behind trees, ready to make an attack.

And for some bizarre reason, my mind trailed back to the Bell test with Kakashi-Sensei.

My heart sunk a little as that test brought back memories of Team 7 … lunch … and _him_.

Which, once again, distracted me.

I've _really_ got to stop doing that .

Kabuto seemed to be done with Naruto who was slumped over by a tree seemingly unconscious, and was now heading after me again, throwing more Shuriken and Kunai in my direction.

It seemed for every weapon I dodged, I was hit by two, and as I jumped to get away, trying to heal the cuts as I did so, he only followed me, his (what seemed to be) never-ending supply of Kunai finally coming to a halt, much like his Shuriken.

Once I'd healed what could've been major wounds, I clenched my fist as I jumped from branch to branch, gathering my chakra into said fist, ready to turn and knock him out with one blow.

As soon as I felt I had enough chakra, I swiftly turned on the next branch and flew towards Kabuto, fist out, ready to punch.

If it were a comical scene I would've looked like Superman.

Kabuto didn't seem to be expecting it, but, since this is Kabuto, you can never be too sure.

Sure enough, as soon as my fist came within range of Kabuto's face, he dodged, grabbed my wrist and flung me off the tree and onto the ground below, hitting another tree along the way and causing it to break in half and stumble to the ground.

I winced in pain, but didn't let it get the better of me as I sat up slightly, breathing hard.

Kabuto jumped down onto the ground without buckling at all, and walked towards me, smirking all the while.

"Foolish girl. Although, I can see why he wants you. You truly do have great potential …" he trailed off, staring at the broken tree and the damage I'd caused to this small part of the forest. I narrowed my eyes at him curiously. _'What is he talking about? Who is 'he'? It couldn't be … surely not …he has what he wanted and he's had it for three years now, there's no way he could really want _me_ is there?'_

As if he read my thoughts, Kabuto looked back down at me, and I was just able to see his malevolent eyes behind the shades of his glasses. He sneered as he knelt down beside my head and put a hand to my stomach, healing it from where he threw me to the ground. I blinked up at him, surprised, and decided to use this as an opportunity to get him again.

I lunged up, chakra in my fist once again, and threw a punch at him. His eyes widened as my fist came into contact with his stomach and he hurled across the clearing, his back slamming hard against a tree (and breaking it), before he fell to the floor.

He grunted as he pushed himself up and glared at me, and I couldn't help but wear a triumphant smile across my face.

He chuckled slightly before standing up fully. "You may have won this round, Sakura, but trust me when I say I will be back for you. Orochimaru isn't done with his plans yet, Pinky."

And with that, he smirked and disappeared into thin air, before I could even retort to him calling me Pinky.

I knelt to the ground as my eyes widened and I took in what Kabuto had said.

_Orochimaru isn't done with his plans yet …_

And that's when it hit her.

After all this time, Orochimaru didn't even want Sasuke …

He wanted _her_ …

**Okay, chapter 4 is done. I know it's short again, but I'm really bad at fight scenes (be it the first one I've written) and I didn't want to spend too long on it.**

**So it was Kabuto … I want reviews telling me how many of you guys were expecting that … If I didn't write the story I probably would've suspected Sasuke or something, but meh, please tell me who you thought it would've been =)**

**Also, is it just me or who else gets really freaked out when Kabuto's glasses are reflecting light and you can't see his eyes??**

**One more thing, I want to know how many people out there actually read my notes at the beginning/end. If you do read this, please put the word 'banana' in your review. Anonymous or not, and whether you somehow merge it in with your actual review or not, I'm just curious coz I think it takes me more time to communicate with my fellow readers/writers than the actually story hehe.**

**One more thing: please PLEASE review!!!! The first person to review will get a dedication and a cookie in the next chapter, and each reviewer after that will get a dedication for the next chapter, as it's you guys that motivate me and keep me writing. Even a simple 'good' or 'bad' will suffice! So **_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_

**Remember: First one gets a cookie!**

**It's easy if you're not sure how … theres a simple button below which you click and you write something. Surely if you can take time scrolling down to 'Add story to favourites' or 'Add author to story alert' then you can take the time to write a simple sentence on what you thought of it =)**

**Anyhoo, over and out!**

**-x-Emma-x- **


	5. Too Late

**Back so soon? I hear you ask? Well that's what no school home alone and a horrible stomach ache does to me. This may be the quickest I have ever updated, so you people best be thankful hehe =)**

**I'd like to dedicate this chapter to:**

_**Satsujin Akuma (Chocolate chip cookie for you, hope you like it =D)**_

_**Siah Yasana**_

**For taking the time to review this story. It really means a lot to me and like I said yesterday I would not be writing this if it weren't for you guys =)**

**Note: Oh yeah, I'm not sure how many people realised my little cock up with the summary and the last chapter … I'd forgotten that they were supposed to realise later, so now I'm gonna try to kinda merge that in, since last night I got a pretty good idea in my head about what I could do, so yeah, bare with me =)**

**Anyhoo on with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Not much has changed between last night and this morning I'm afraid =/ …**

_**Previously, on 'The Wrong One' …**_

_I knelt to the ground as my eyes widened and I took in what Kabuto had said. _

_Orochimaru isn't done with his plans yet …_

_And that's when it hit her._

_After all this time, Orochimaru didn't even want Sasuke …_

_He wanted her …_

**Chapter 5: Too Late**

"Hey, Saks! Are you alright?"

I turned my head slowly as Kiba's voice filled the air around me. Since I was still slightly in shock at my discovery, I was unaware that Naruto and Kakashi were also running towards me worriedly.

Kiba sat in front of me and grasped my shoulders tightly but gently. I looked into his eyes as his dark slits narrowed and focused on me.

Someone laid their hand on my shoulder, and I'm assuming it's Kakashi since Naruto wouldn't be that subtle.

As soon as what Kabuto said sunk in and I realised everyone was staring at me intently, I shook my head slightly and smiled as real as possible.

"I'm fine, guys, don't worry. What about yourselves?"

Kiba's hold on me relaxed a little, but he eyes were still boring into my skull, as if trying to see what was going on in my mind.

Over the last couple of years Kiba and I grew closer together, though it was mainly due to the fact that Naruto decided that since he and Hinata were together now, Kiba should spend more time with us (but it was blatantly obvious that he was trying terribly to match-make and make me and Kiba start dating) and so from there, mainly to annoy Naruto but also because neither of us were ready of even thinking about dating yet, our friendship turned into that of a more brotherly/sisterly love, and since then we have always looked out for each other and got our backs.

But, of course, that lead to Naruto getting jealous that he wasn't the only brotherly figure in my life.

Which lead to him trying to compete with Kiba all the time.

Just like a real family.

I smiled reassuringly at Kiba, before he was pushed harshly to the side by Naruto, who did the same as Kiba, only tried to make it more threatening (which in the end made it look like he was trying to fart or something)

"Did that bastard hurt you? If he did I swear … I'll kill him!" Naruto roared loudly, making a few birds fly away from the area.

"I laughed slightly at Naruto's words, before looking around and taking in the full extent of the damage I caused.

"Take a look at the damage, Naruto. I think it's safe to say he didn't hurt me." I smiled, and unconsciously moved my hand over my stomach, where I would've been hurt, had Kabuto not healed me.

As soon as I realised what I was doing, I took my hand away as discretely as possible, hoping no one would notice.

Akamaru barked, drawing everyone's attention away from me, and fell to the floor playfully, signalling that he wanted to sleep.

I heard Kakashi chuckle slightly, before he ordered Kiba and I to get some wood for a fire, while he and Naruto set up the camp, much to Naruto's dislike.

I smiled as I walked a little way into the forest, Kiba following suite, and found some suitable wood to use for our fire. I picked up a tad too much, causing some to almost drop on the floor had it not been for Kiba's fast reflexes.

I smiled my thanks and we walked back towards our camp that was almost finished. Kiba and I placed the wood down and I prepared the fire as Kiba helped Naruto to set up his tent. I watched for a while, generally amused, before I felt a slight pain in my stomach from where I fell earlier. I placed my hand there once again, discretely making it glow green to try and heal whatever it was that hurt a moment ago. Once I figured it was done, I turned my attention back to the fire, after seeing that Naruto and Kiba had finished.

"Woo! We're done at last! Lets sleep!"

Naruto shouted before running into his tent and practically dropping to the floor. I chuckled and said goodnight to Kakashi as he stepped inside his tent as well.

I watched Akamaru sleeping peacefully outside Kiba's tent and was slightly surprised to see Kiba walking out and sitting beside me by the fire.

"Couldn't sleep." He muttered as I smiled and laid my head on his shoulder. I closed my eyes for a while, knowing fully well I wouldn't be getting any sleep either, and winced slightly as another shot of pain ran through my stomach, and it took every ounce of strength in my body to not clutch it tightly and heal it.

"What did Kabuto do to you?"

I looked up, surprised at the anger in Kiba's voice. I took a moment to take in his features.

His eyes were narrowed once again as he practically refused to look at me, his hands were balled into fists by his side and he was shaking ever so slightly, but whether that was due to the anger or the cold breeze, I wasn't too sure.

I decided that this was not a time to play dumb and innocent, so I clutched my stomach and looked down, suddenly feeling his eyes boring into my skull again.

"I … I'm not sure … I went to punch him but he grabbed my wrist and threw me to the ground, and I somehow hurt my stomach. I didn't get a chance to see the extent of the pain because by the time I was able to sit up; Kabuto came down and appeared to heal it for me. That's when I punched him into the tree and he disappeared. I figured he just didn't want me too hurt for some reason, but ever since I've been getting a sharp pain in my stomach, and I can only assume that he did something to me, but I'm not sure what…" I trailed off, continuing to look at the dirt on the ground beneath me.

Kiba's eyes were still locked on me, and I was surprised when he wrapped his arm around my shoulders tightly.

"I'm sure it's nothing and you're just being overly paranoid. And if it _is_ something, then Kabuto won't live. Kind of a win-win situation if you look at it from a very strange perspective … And don't worry, Saks, I won't tell the others."

He smiled reassuringly, and I couldn't help but smile back before I hugged him tightly, before saying goodnight and walking into my tent and lifting my shirt up slightly to look at my stomach.

There seemed to be no scratches, no scars, no bruises … no nothing. I started to believe Kiba's theory on my paranoia when a pain much worse than before bubbled inside me, and I couldn't help but double over in agony and close my eyes tightly while biting my bottom lip to prevent me from screaming out in agony.

The pain left almost as quickly as it came, though, and I sat up again before trying to heal whatever it was that was causing it.

As another pain, dimmer this time, bolted through my stomach, only one thought processed through my mind.

'_He's going to get me.'_

**Chapter 5 is DONE! In record time too. I know how I was going to dedicate this to everyone who reviewed (as in, trying to get more people to review) But I just couldn't wait to get this chapter out the way. I'm so bored I may even start writing the next chapter too =)**

**The same does go to each chapter though. I will give a cookie to the first one (It'll have to be chocolate chip, I'm afraid) and a dedication to everyone. And if you review the last chapter as well I'll through in a double dedication because you care. =)**

**I dunno about you guys, but I've been feeling a very strong 'I love Kiba so much!' vibe lately, and I think it's totally adorable if he's really close friends with Sakura. I dunno why … I just love it.**

**I hope you guys don't mind it either hehe. **

**Anyway…so yeah, I want to get at least 5 reviews for this chapter before I consider putting the next one up. Just because I may write it now doesn't mean I'll post it straight away.**

**So I'm begging you … PLEASE **_**please**_** review!! I can't write if I don't know how to improve or what to keep! I need you guys!!!**

**Over and out =)**

**-x-Emma-x-**


	6. Secret Identities

**Howdy yall! Okay, so I only got 4 reviews for the last chapter … but I didn't want to wait to get this chapter up!**

**I'd like to dedicate this chapter to:**

_**Luna Rei Harmony**_ **(Cookie for you) **

_**Siah Yasana**_

_**Satsujin Akuma**_

_**Luka1Sakura**_

**For their brilliant support and for actually reviewing the last chapter. You guys make a difference!**

**And thanks to **_**Siah Yasana**_** who gave an idea that I may have to start in this chapter … so yeah … ALSO there will be some SasuSaku soon! I promise! I think …**

**And also thanks to **_**Sakuraangel1327**_** for reviewing all my chapters so far =) It's readers like you that make me happy =)**

**Disclaimer: Just like Pinky and the Brain, I try to take over Naruto every night. Unfortunately, also like Pinky and the Brain, I fail. So no, no Naruto ownage going on here. And I do not own Yoshimaru's Ramen Bar! No ownage there either!**

**This chapter is also dedicated to **_**Oh-So-Typical**_** because she is an awesome friend and her birthday is coming up, so I'm dedicating this to her in case I can't get another chapter up. This is for you, **_**Oh-So-Typical**_**!!!**

**One more thing: As a brunette myself, I do not mean to offend anyone with brown hair ... you'll see what I mean ...**

**Anyhoo…**

**ENJOY!**

_**Previously on 'The Wrong One'…**_

_There seemed to be no scratches, no scars, no bruises … no nothing. I started to believe Kiba's theory on my paranoia when a pain much worse than before bubbled inside me, and I couldn't help but double over in agony and close my eyes tightly while biting my bottom lip to prevent me from screaming out in agony._

_The pain left almost as quickly as it came, though, and I sat up again before trying to heal whatever it was that was causing it._

_As another pain, dimmer this time, bolted through my stomach, only one thought processed through my mind._

'_He's going to get me.'_

**Chapter 6: Secret Identities**

Sunlight burst through a slit in my tent, and my eyes quickly fluttered open, trying to adjust to the light of the morning.

I sat up slowly, careful not to make myself hurt like last night. I cringed at the memory of the excruciating pain before I stood up – again, slowly – and headed out of my tent.

I looked around to see Kiba hoisting some more wood for a fire for breakfast, while Kakashi read his stupid porno book and Naruto was still asleep, only outside his tent using a log as a pillow.

At least he _tried_ to help.

I rolled my eyes and followed Kiba, slightly surprised that I felt no pain yet. I appeared behind him and poked his back, causing him to arch slightly and glare playfully at me. I just gave him an innocent smile and helped carry some logs back to camp.

"So … how're you feeling?" He asked hesitantly, not quite sure how to put it. I smiled reassuringly and looked back to the path ahead of me.

"So far I'm completely fine … maybe you were right, just paranoia." I smiled once more and out of the corner of my eye saw him smile back.

"Of course I was right. I'm always right!"

At this I laughed, before a pain in my stomach told me that Kiba wasn't right this time, and I had to refrain from dropping the logs I was carrying.

Once we reached the camp again, nothing had really changed. Naruto was still sleeping on a log, except now he was also hugging one in his sleep, and Kakashi seemed to be on the same page of his book, doing nothing but looking at the pictures.

Gross, _gross_ man …

After breakfast (Naruto had woken up by this point) we sorted out our civilian clothes and hair and got ready for going around the village, all ready to put last night with Kabuto behind us.

I glanced at the clothes everyone else was wearing.

Naruto was wearing a white T-Shirt with a picture of a pot of Ramen with a smiley face on it (immature much?) with a pair of slightly baggy white trousers and white trainers, and I couldn't help but think that he looked relatively normal. He hadn't put his wig on yet, instead holding it in his hands, seemingly repulsed at it.

"Brown? I don't want brown hair! I don't wanna look like a stupid brunette! It won't suit me!"

"Hey?! Who are you calling stupid, you idiot! Brown hair is awesome! And the only reason it won't suit you is because you're too ugly to pass it off!"

"Exact- HEY wait a minute, that's not true! Sakura-chan tell him brown hair is stupid!"

I watched the two argue for a while until my ears perked up at the sound of my name. I rolled my eyes and walked over to Naruto, picking up his wig and placing it on his head.

"There is nothing wrong with being a brunette, Naruto, and it suits you quite well."

It was only then that I realised he had brown contact lenses in, and if he was walking next to Kiba (though I'd never say it out loud because I value my life) you could actually mistake them for being brothers.

I turned to Kiba then, and noticed he had a black wife-beater shirt on with a picture of a dog's face, and black jeans with casual black plimsolls. He had put his make-up on, like Naruto had, and looked relatively normal too. He also looked quite cute, but I won't mention that again.

"Hey, Saks, you look nice. That hair suits you."

I stopped staring unconsciously at Kiba and took a look at myself.

I decided to wear the wig since it was much less hassle and so my hair was now elbow-length and dark black (which annoyingly reminded me of _his_ hair) and my crimson T-shirt fitted me nicely, showing my curves, and my white skirt ended mid-thigh. I had darker green contact lenses in, and I had black knee high boots to complete the ensemble.

When I turned to look at Kakashi, however, he was still in Ninja attire reading his annoying book.

"Umm … Kakashi-sensei? Aren't you going to change into something more … normal?"

For the first time that morning, Kakashi looked up from his book and his eye crinkled to indicate that he was smiling beneath his mask.

"I'm not going to be doing what you're doing. I have other matters to attend to. I've already booked a couple of rooms at a local inn in Amegakure. And remember, don't talk to anybody there. One, we do not have time to make fake names, and two, anybody could be undercover as spies for either Orochimaru or the Akatsuki. Especially you, Naruto, keep yourself to yourself. I know that's hard for you but I'm sure you can manage. You all better get going, see ya!"

Once that was said, he disappeared in a poof of smoke, leaving Naruto, Kiba and I in the suddenly tense camp.

"Hey Saks, you … wanna go get something to eat?"

I turned to Kiba and smiled warmly, nodding slightly. I walked over to him as he held his arm out as a gesture for me to link arms with him, and after giggling slightly, I did just that as we started walking off.

"HEY! Sakura-chan! That's not fair! I was gonna ask you if you wanted to get Ramen! Kiba you stole my date!"

Kiba scoffed as I turned around and looked at Naruto apologetically. "Sorry, Naruto, you know I would love to, but Kiba asked me first … I didn't know you were gonna invite me to go get Ramen. Maybe later though, okay? Sorry."

I pouted slightly, feeling bad for abandoning Naruto, knowing that I couldn't ask him to join us because, as I said earlier, I value my life.

He looked hurt for a brief moment, before smiling brightly and putting his thumb up, irritatingly looking a lot like Lee while pulling that gesture. I shuddered at that thought and looked back at Naruto.

"Sure thing, Sakura-chan! I'll see you for Ramen later! Right now I'm going to find the nearest store! Bye Sakura-chan!"

And with that, he ran past them and out of sight, while I shook my head and sighed.

"Humph … doesn't even say bye to me … the baka … anyway, shall we get going??"

I looked up at Kiba and smiled, as another pain went through my stomach, slightly worse than the one earlier. My smile wavered slightly but I managed to keep it there, and thankfully Kiba didn't notice.

We started walking into Amegakure, watching other civilians playing around and having fun. Part of me almost wished I could actually be like them.

But that was a very small part of me.

I was broken out of my thoughts as Kiba nudged me to the left, where a cute little café was situated. We took a seat outside as a waiter came and asked for our orders. While I only ordered a bowl of noodles since I wasn't very hungry, Kiba decided to order half of the menu. I shook my head and laughed at his greediness before raising an eyebrow at some of the things he was ordering.

Once the baffled waiter left our table, I put my elbows on it and rested my head on my hand.

"I could've sworn half the things you ordered you don't even like, Kiba-kun. Are you really that hungry? We only had breakfast about an hour ago you know." I said with a smile on my face, and Kiba smiled back sheepishly.

"I know but … the more food I got the longer we'd be able to spend here. We have a whole day to ourselves we might as well make the most of it."

"But … you don't have the money for all of that stuff … and you definitely won't be able to eat it all …"

"I'll put what I can't afford on Kakashi's tab. I have a fair amount of money with me you know. And anything I don't eat I'll give to Akamaru, right buddy?"

I watched as Akamaru barked loudly and I giggled at his eagerness.

Kiba smirked and I couldn't help but smile with him.

Kiba had already finished three bowls of food before I'd even got halfway through my bowl of noodles. I giggled at his childish behaviour as I slurped up the last few strands, before leaning back in my chair and looking into the morning sky.

'_Today's gonna be fun.'_

**With Naruto…**

**Normal POV**

"Stupid … Kiba … stealing Sakura away … just coz he likes her and … HEY Ramen!"

Naruto soon lost his train of thought as he spotted a ramen stool straight up ahead. Trying to remember to not be himself, he ran slower than the speed he usually runs at to get to Ichiraku's.

Once he reached the ramen stool, he sat down and ordered only 5 bowls, being strangely careful to make sure this mission was a success.

He finally had a chance to complete his promise to Sakura.

And that was worth more than life itself.

Once the bowls were placed in front of him, he tucked in, savouring every last noodle.

"Wow…I've never met anyone who loves ramen that much."

He stopped in his tracks and turned to see a female sitting beside him.

She had waist-length dark teal coloured hair and midnight blue eyes. She had a pale complexion and wore a light blue tank top with black jeans. She had a lip piercing in the centre of her bottom lip. She also seemed to be around the same age as him.

In short, she was pretty.

_Very_ pretty.

She smiled at Naruto and turned to continue eating her own ramen. He watched her for a bit, amazed, before continuing to eat his own at an unbelievably fast rate.

"I'm Takara. Minami Takara."

Naruto looked towards the stranger, before looking down to see her outstretched hand. He chuckled and shook it, still attempting to eat ramen with his free hand.

Takara giggled as she watched him and smiled warmly, before eating a few more bites of ramen.

'_Anybody could be undercover as spies for either Orochimaru or the Akatsuki.'_

Naruto shook that thought out of his mind. _'She's just a harmless girl. A very pretty harmless girl. She won't work for anyone. I'm sure of it.'_

He was taken out of his thoughts as a small hand waved in front of him. He blinked and shook his head. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked what your name was." Takara giggled again, and it sounded like sweet music to his ears.

His eyes widened as he racked his brain for a good enough name. _'Crap! I didn't think about that!'_

Takara watched the boy uncertainly, not sure what he was doing. "Umm … are you okay?"

"Umm … y-yeah, I'm fine. I-I'm Yukimara Akio. Yeah, that's m-my name. Akio." He chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck, waiting for her reply.

"Nice to meet you, Akio-san. What brings you to Yoshimaru's this fine summer's morning then?"

"…Huh?"

She laughed once more, before handing her empty bowl to the owner of said ramen stool.

"Thanks Daichi. Yoshimaru Ramen bar, that's the place you're currently sitting in … you're not from around here, are you?" She said speculatively. She smiled when she saw Naruto's reaction as he scratched his neck once again.

"Oh … right … umm, no, I'm not from around here. I travel around a lot. Been travelling for years now, I'm not even sure where I first started off hehe …"

'_Naruto you are genius.'_

"Oh I see. So you just came to Ame on an impulse then? Or are you staying for a while?"

"Well you see … I came this morning and … yeah I was passing through so, thought I'd stop by, you know?"

"Wow, you really must get around a lot. How old are you? I don't mean to sound rash but you don't seem all that old, certainly not old enough to be travelling to every country around."

"Oh I'm 16. My parents … died when I was young, so I've brought myself up all my life. Travelling has been … kind of a big deal … my father always wanted to travel the world so I guess I'm just … doing it for him."

Takara seemed touched by this, as she placed a hand on his knee as a sign of comfort.

"That's terrible. I'm sorry for your loss. I'm 15, so it's pretty cool we're around the same age right?"

"Uhh … yeah, right!" Naruto said enthusiastically, causing Takara to giggle once more.

He was really beginning to like that sound.

"You want me to show you around? Amegakure is kind of a dump, especially with its bad reputation, but there are some pretty cool places around here."

Naruto turned to look at the entrance to Yoshimaru's, trying to see if Sakura would be coming at any point.

"Oh, are you waiting for someone? I'm so sorry, I didn't realise, I'll just leave you to it. It was nice to meet you, Akio-san."

The teal-haired girl got up to leave, before Naruto grabbed her arm. She turned to face him, face saddened slightly but otherwise normal.

"No … I'll come with you. My friend who I travelled with said she'll come have ramen with me but … I guess she probably won't. She's too busy with dog-face …"

"What was that last part? It was kind of muttered and slurred together." Takara smiled kindly, tilting her head to the side waiting for Naruto's answer. Naruto just shook his head and stood up, putting his money on top of the counter, and turning back around to face Takara.

"Show me around, Takara-chan."

* * *

**With Sakura and Kiba …**

**Sakura's POV**

Once we'd finally left the little café we were in, Kiba and I decided to just walk around to get to know the layout of the village. Akamaru trailed behind us since he was tired and a lot bigger than he was when we first got here thanks to Kiba and him biting off more than he could chew.

"You made Akamaru fat, Kiba-kun."

"No I didn't! How many times do I have to tell you, he looks exactly the same as he did when we first got here!"

We turned around to face him, hands brushing slightly, unknowingly causing me to blush. We watched Akamaru practically roll around on the floor, his legs being a lot shorter than they originally were.

"Kiba, he looks like a fluffy puffer-fish."

Kiba couldn't help but chuckle despite being supposedly in argument with me, and I turned to face him inquisitively.

He turned around to look at me and held my wrist with his hand.

"Listen, Sakura … there's something I need to–"

I couldn't hear him anymore as another pain went through my stomach, much worse than any of my previous ones, and for once I couldn't help but double over and scream out in agony.

I fell to my knees, clutching my stomach, and I felt a pair of strong, muscular hands grip my shoulders and try to pull me back on my feet, but I couldn't. I went to fall back down, until someone picked me up bridal style.

My eyesight was blurry and my hearing was muffled, so I couldn't tell who was doing what around me anymore.

I could just about hear a male voice, and see scruffy brown hair, before I slipped into unconsciousness.

'_You will come to me …'_

* * *

**Later that night ...**

**Sakura's POV**

I groaned as my eyes fluttered open, and squinted in the darkness. I suddenly realised I was on something comfortable, and looked around to realise I was lying on a bed in a little room.

'_This must be the inn Kakashi booked for us…'_

I sat up slowly, feeling slight pain in my abdomen once more. The room was dark, as the sunlight from the sky was slowly fading into night.

"You're awake. That's a relief."

I turned my head in the direction of the voice, and saw Kiba looking at me from the windowsill. I smiled and swung to the side, dangling my legs off the edge of the bed.

"What happened? Last thing I remember is talking about furry puffer-fish. Next thing I know I wake up here."

Kiba sighed and got off the windowsill to sit cross-legged on the bed. I turned the top half of my body to face him, but kept my legs dangled off the edge of the bed.

"Your stomach was in pain again. You doubled over in agony, you screamed … it was horrible … people started to turn and look at you so I brought you to the inn, you were unconscious by that time. I took your wig off coz it was getting in the way, I hope you don't mind."

I glanced to the bedside table to see a mass of black hair, and unconsciously placed a hand on the top of my head. I bent my head down to watch pink locks fall around my face, and I couldn't help but smile – that hair was starting to get on my nerves.

"Thanks, Kiba-kun. Where are –"

"Kakashi's next door, I have to go to him in a minute coz I promised him I'd tell him when you woke up. He was really worried about you, came in practically as soon as I set you down on the bed. As for Naruto, I haven't seen him all day, he's not in one of the rooms we've booked and I can't get hold of him. I tried when … you know … but nothing. He's probably eating ramen and just didn't notice, knowing him … anyway, I better go and see Kakashi and turn in for the night. My room's the one opposite if you need me for anything, okay?"

I smiled once again at Kiba, grateful for all the work he put in to help me. "Okay, thanks, Kiba-kun." I said and gave him a quick peck on the cheek to show my appreciation. I saw him blush and blink a few times, before standing up, coughing and brushing himself down.

"R-right then umm … s-see you t-tomorrow … night."

And with that he walked out the room and closed the door lightly. I looked back outside and placed a hand on my stomach.

That voice …

I heard Orochimaru's message in my head once again, and decided to ponder on what it meant.

'_You will come to me …'_

It was a pointless message, really. I mean, I'm never going to go to Orochimaru, willingly or not …

Right?

* * *

**With Naruto …**

**Normal POV**

"C'mon, Akio-san, you're such a slow-coach!" Takara's melodic voice rang through his ears as he ran after her, trying not to use too much chakra as it could give away that he was a ninja. Once he'd caught up with her, he noticed how her hair shimmered in the setting sun and the way her eyes sparkled.

"Finally! I was starting to think a snail would beat you." She smirked cockily, tilting her head to one side. Naruto chuckled and playfully glared at her, before looking at her watch.

"Ah … I should be getting back to the inn now … you should probably be getting back home too."

Takara looked upset, yet nodded her head anyway. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Will I see you at Yoshimaru's tomorrow?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Probably not, I'll have to leave quite early in order to get to my destination on time. I may come back here though, we can spend some more time together then, alright?"

Takara nodded once more, her teal bangs dancing as she moved. "Alright then … we'll hang out some other time. I'm very glad I got to meet you, Akio-san."

"Please, don't call me Akio-san. Far too formal for me."

"Okay then. Goodbye, Akio-kun."

Takara leaned up and pressed her lips against his cheek, before smiling and bouncing off down the road towards her house (or so he presumed).

Naruto placed a hand over his cheek as it tingled from her touch, and smiled to no one in particular before walking towards the inn.

'_Naruto, my dear friend, you are still a genius …'_

* * *

**With Takara …**

**Normal POV**

Takara bounced down the road and turned a corner, stopping as she reached it and peeked round, watching as 'Akio' touched the spot where she kissed him.

'_Stupid baka …'_ She thought to herself as he walked off towards the inn he was staying in. She turned around and took an earpiece from her pocket and adjusted it on her.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

_"…"_

"Hello?"

"_Loud and clear, Takara"_ The person on the other side of the earpiece mocked her, as she shuddered at the name.

"Ugh, please don't call me that! Having to hear it from _him_ all day is enough!"

She heard the other person chuckle lightly, before becoming serious again.

"_So did you get it?"_

"Yes. I'm positive it's him. He thinks he was clever by the name and the disguise, but it was obvious. Only an normal civilian wouldn't be able to tell he was Uzumaki Naruto, and that's only because normal civilians don't know who he is."

"_And you can be absolutely certain?"_

"-sigh- Yes. The way he spoke about his parents dying and travelling and 'aspiring to become huge one day' made it all to noticeable who he was. Yukimara Akio _is_ Uzumaki Naruto."

"_Good. And you plan to follow him for the rest of his mission, correct?"_

"Yes. I'm going follow him and do everything I can to get him away from his teammates. Once he's alone, he's mine for the picking. It'll be no sweat, he isn't called the number 1 knucklehead ninja for nothing."

"_Yes … you have done well … Konan …"_

**Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun! Oh what a cliffie, don't you hate me right now!? Well tough because no matter how much you wanna kill me, if you do then I'll never be able to finish this story! So HA! I win!**

**Moving on …**

**This was 12 PAGES! 12! On Microsoft Word, anyway. So thank you for actually taking the time to read all of this, I only planned for it to be a short chapter!**

**Who here likes 'Takara'? At first I just made the description then I was like '…wait a minute … it could be someone from the Akatsuki!' and I searched Google images and saw a picture of her and thought 'well she doesn't look too different from the person I created …' and thus, The 'Konan as Takara' idea emerged.**

**Slight KibaSaku again! I know I honestly don't mean too! But Kiba really, really likes Sakura, I mean, which guy in Naruto doesn't? Hehe, so yeah, but there won't be much, so don't worry, this story is still completely SasuSaku =)**

**I may draw a picture of Minami Takara at some point if I get bored and ever get access to a scanner, I will put it on somewhere like DeviantArt so you can see it. Or, if you want to draw her, you may, just let me know and mention me wherever you put it.**

**I think that's all my babbling … oh yeah one more thing:**

**Who's the genius, Naruto? Hehe =)**

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!**

**Over and Out!**

**-x-Emma-x-**

* * *


	7. Feuds Between Friends

**BOO! Hehe, hey, how you all been? I'm sorry for not updating this sooner, but my one-shot 'Ketchup' (please read! It's lacking reviews) kinda took all the inspiration and dedication out of me, I wasn't motivated for this chapter at all! I know what I want in this chapter and what I want to do, I've just been really lazy about getting it done =)**

**Also, the day I decided I was going to start writing again my computer decided to mess up and have something wrong with the hard drive and I have to wait for my brother to come down so it can get sorted because it doesn't even work properly now, but it's letting me on it, so it's all cool =)**

**I'd like to dedicate this chapter to:**

_**Recurring Soul **_**(Took me a while to realise this is formerly **_**Satsujin Akuma**_**, Anyhoo a cookie for you) **

_**Siah Yasuna**_

_**Luna Rei Harmony**_

_**Sakuraangel1327**_

_**Oh-So-Typical**_

_**xXoTaInTeD-bLoSsOmoXx**_

**For reviewing chapter 6 and giving me the 6 coolest reviews so far! (I've never seen the word Konan on one page so many times xp)**

**WARNING: Major OOCness coming from Naruto and Sakura! Don't kill me for it please!**

**Disclaimer: See last chapter for details.**

**I hope you enjoy!!!**

_**Previously on 'The Wrong One' …**_

"_Yes. I'm going follow him and do everything I can to get him away from his teammates. Once he's alone, he's mine for the picking. It'll be no sweat; he isn't called the number 1 knucklehead ninja for nothing."_

"_Yes … you have done well … Konan …"_

**Chapter 7: Feuds Between Friends**

"Where were you last night?"

It was evident I was seething, as my deathly calm voice being used with gritted teeth is never a good sign for the victim.

Naruto looked up from his breakfast (a breakfast he refused to touch, because it didn't contain ramen) and gulped as his eyes widened.

"Oh … uhh … I had ramen."

My right eye visibly twitched, as Kiba glanced from Naruto to me again and again, and Kakashi leaned back in his chair reading his orange book.

"Kiba and I went past the ramen stand and you weren't there. Don't lie to me, Uzumaki Naruto. Where. Were. You?"

I noticed Naruto shake slightly as my threatening voice pierced through him. The silly boy thought I was angry.

I wasn't angry.

I was _livid_.

Naruto gulped once again and pulled at the collar of his jacket. "I … went for a … uh … walk afterwards. To … you know … walk off the ramen … I … had …"

I rolled my eyes, knowing I wasn't going to get a realistic answer; and flopped back on my chair, waiting for the others to finish their breakfasts.

About half an hour later, when Naruto had at last taken one bite of his 'fake food' (as he so richly calls it), we headed back towards our rooms to grab all of our stuff, ready to be on the move. I walked into Kakashi's room once I was done (since he insisted we met up in there first) and noticed Naruto fidgeting on a chair and Kiba lying on the bed, probably attempting to sleep.

I was about to ruin _that_ for him.

"Hey, Naruto … did you say you were walking off the ramen you ate?" I said in the sweetest, most innocent voice I could come up with, and Naruto, seemingly thinking I believed him (the dobe), nodded quickly, grinning all the while. My fake smile faltered and I marched up to the chair he was sitting on.

"Uzumaki Naruto you do not walk anything off, especially if it's ramen, and even if you expected me to believe you it still gives you no right or excuse to somehow open my door while I was asleep and collapse on my bed out of tiredness, sighing dreamily to yourself!"

At this, Kiba's head shot up as he glared at Naruto, making the already scared boy cower more. "He did _what_ now?"

I turned to face him, slightly confused by his actions but shrugging them off, and placed my hands on my hips.

"Oh it gets better, Kiba-kun. Not only did he fall onto my bed, he fell _directly_ _on top of me_!" I shouted even louder, and made a mental note to apologize to the people next door for waking them up at 5am.

If looks could kill, Naruto would be six feet under by now …

Kiba then stood up; looking from my glaring face (that could undoubtedly give any Uchiha a run for their money.) to Naruto's wide-eyed, pleading face. He stood by my side and placed his hands on his hips also, glaring down at Naruto with me.

… Make that 12 feet under …

Just as Kiba opened his mouth to say (shout) something, Kakashi looked up from his book (he hadn't put it down literally from breakfast to his room. We had to apologize to a lot of people in the hallways) and interrupted our glaring game.

"Alright, kids. Time to go."

I huffed and picked up the bag I so gracefully dropped as I walked in and continued out the room without another sound.

* * *

**Normal POV**

"You are really obvious, you know that?"

Kiba looked at Naruto innocently, before smiling and looking ahead. "I don't know what you're talking about, Naruto."

"Sure you do. You like Sakura-chan don't ya?"

Kiba halted and turned red, which was the only answer Naruto needed. "Don't worry; she's so dense that she can't even figure it out. You will have to spell it out for her if you want a chance with her. Gosh if I was as dense as her I don't know what I'd do."

"Hey, wait a minute; don't you only ever praise Sakura-chan? What's with the sudden negativity?"

Naruto blinked for a few moments, trying to get the large words to sink in before answering.

"I'm not being negative; sometimes density is a good thing. She sees me like a brother, so I must act like one at times. Don't mention this to her though … she's pissed off with me as it is."

Kiba pondered for a moment, before shaking his head and looking back in front, where Sakura just so happened to be walking.

"Naruto … did you say you weren't dense?"

Naruto smiled proudly as an indication that he wasn't oblivious at all.

"So you know about Hinata …"

"What? What about Hinata? I dunno where you're going with this, Kiba, but trust me. If Sakura doesn't realise you like her by now then maybe you should just blurt it out. Thank Kami I'm not in this situation!"

Kiba couldn't help but smirk.

* * *

**Sakura's POV**

I reached the edge of the forest to continue our journey as Naruto and Kiba followed closely with Kakashi walking like a snail with a Zimmer frame due to reading his book. Thankfully (though I'm still annoyed at him) Naruto came to the rescue and stood behind our teacher and pushed him with all his might. Within the next five minutes, they had reached Kiba and me, so I wasn't complaining.

Too much.

I was surprised at how busy Amegakure could be at just 5.30am on a Monday morning. The sun was barely above the horizon and already people were bustling about, getting ready to open their businesses or just generally wandering about their village.

I was violently pulled out of my thoughts when Kakashi gave the oh-so-subtle signal to move out (a yell across the town … he's been around Gai-sensei too much now…)

Despite the fact that I hadn't been getting the stomach pains for that long and I hadn't had one since my huge one last night, I had already stopped being surprised when one appeared, searing though my abdomen painfully. I flinched a little, but otherwise remained cool and collected.

As we were about to start running, a young, female voice stopped us from behind.

"Akio?"

I turned around to see a girl about our age with long, teal hair and a lip pierce. I was sure she slightly reminded me of someone, but decided to let it go. I know for a fact Kiba and I have never seen this girl before, and Kakashi really isn't that perverted … which only left one person.

Naruto you baka.

I glanced towards Naruto, my annoyance with him suddenly overpowering every other feeling in my body, including my throbbing stomach. I saw his eyes widen and blink a few times before smiling.

"Oh … uh … hey, Takara! Uh … what are you doing here?"

'_So her name is Takara …'_ I mused as I continued to glance from one to the other. She smiled sheepishly and took a step towards us, and even though she was over two metres away, I still felt like she was invading my personal bubble.

"Well, I was walking around hoping I could see you before you left. A final goodbye, right, Akio?" She tilted her head to the side innocently, and I could tell straight away that she wasn't who she supposedly was. I just didn't know who she _really_ was.

Kakashi decided to step in at that point, finally having put his book down.

"I'm sorry Miss … Takara? We really have to get going so if you excuse us …"

Takara nodded in understanding before running up to Naruto, my personal bubble threatening to pop anytime soon. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and smiled before walking backwards waving to us all.

"I understand. Bye, Akio! I hope to see you soon! And it was nice meeting the rest of you!"

And with that, she turned and bounded off behind many villagers that had now come out of nowhere.

We turned and started running, and I slowly started running towards Naruto, because he needs to give us some answers.

I bonked him on the head hard enough to almost make him fall from the tree he was currently leaping from. He yelled in pain, causing Kiba, Akamaru (who had somehow lost his fat overnight) and Kakashi to stop and turn.

"Sakura-chan, what was that –"

"Naruto don't even _think _about giving me that shit! How could you possibly be this stupid!? We were all given direct rules and you decided to disobey them! And trying to fool her by giving the name 'Akio'!? What is that about? And most importantly why did you lie to me about it and refuse to tell me anything!?"

Naruto flinched and looked generally hurt, and I almost felt sorry for him, but I was so angry to the point I couldn't even think straight anymore, and I was pretty sure that if I was a jinchuuriki it would've been unleashed by now.

"Sakura, calm down. What Naruto did was very idiotic and he clearly didn't think it through. But you should cut him a bit of slack. It _is_ Naruto, after all."

"Kakashi-sensei, I would if this wasn't an A-rank mission, but to be perfectly honest I feel like I could scream at Naruto for days. What if she was undercover? What if she was working for the Akatsuki, or Orochimaru? He put all our lives at stake by talking and befriending that Katara girl and I can't just forgive and forget that very easily."

There was silence for a while as the hurt in Naruto's eyes was replaced by anger. An anger that I have never seen directed at me before.

"First of all, it's _Takara_. If you're gonna hate at first sight at least remember the name. And secondly, I know she isn't working for either of those. She is a normal civilian and she just wanted to make a new friend, it wasn't my fault I was the only person in the ramen bar at the time! She understood me and she knew how I felt, and that was all that mattered. She wouldn't shout at me or scold me for accidently falling on her bed, she'd laugh at my stupidity and that's that. And it's not exactly like you don't have any flaws either! After years of knowing the guy and you don't even realise that Kiba is in love with you! You've been torturing him all these years by being his 'best and closest' friend, and you had no clue at all! Maybe I should just go back to Ame and tell Takara that I'll be staying there with her, at least she'll treat me like a true friend."

After that outburst, I was left utterly stunned. My eyes widened and my breath hitched slightly. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Kiba looking at Naruto in anger before looking at the ground, and Kakashi had even put his book back in his pouch, as he couldn't believe what Naruto said either.

I could feel tears stinging my eyes as I continued to stare at Naruto, dumbfounded completely. I tried opening my mouth to respond, but only gasps of breath came out.

"Well then maybe you should."

I directed my attention to Kiba, who was still looking at the ground, and Akamaru, who was growling at Naruto. Naruto turned to face him also, calming down a little.

"What?"

"Naruto, you've hurt two of the closest people to you in the last five minutes. One being the girl you've loved like a sister since you were twelve, and one that's … well, one that isn't that much. I think we all need to cool off slightly before continuing on with this mission. We all know you didn't mean what you said, so just take a few minutes to breathe and calm down."

It was unusual for Kiba to speak out so seriously like that, and my heart suddenly sank at what Naruto said. _"You don't even realise that Kiba is in love with you!"_

The tears started to pour out as I looked at Naruto one more time. He looked me in the eye and his expression softened a little, yet he still kept the defensiveness in his eyes.

After deciding that I couldn't take any more of this, I turned and faced Kakashi, who sympathised for me and he opened his arms slightly to welcome me for a comforting hug.

It was only then that I realised the pain in my stomach was still there.

I walked towards Kakashi, yet moved his arms away as I neared him. "I need to be alone." I said brokenly, and took off in the direction that we were meant to go in, hopefully not being followed. I didn't know where I was going and I didn't care, I just needed to leave that place.

"_At least she'll treat me like a true friend."_

Naruto was right. About everything. I just shouldn't be allowed near people, end of story.

I found a huge rock and sat on it, letting the tears spill freely as I pulled my knees to my chest, burying my head in between.

The pain in my stomach never ceased, and I sat there for a good hour or so, without anyone coming to talk to me or offer reassurance. And I was grateful. I felt I should go back soon, but decided to stay for a little longer, knowing if they were in some sort of trouble they'd get out of it much better if I wasn't there.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in."

I looked up in shock; I had been so absorbed in letting the tears out I hadn't even bothered to mask my chakra or notice anyone else's.

The man looked at me, his glasses reflecting the rising sun. He pushed said glasses further up his nose, and placed bother hands behind his back.

"Seems you're not feeling very well lately. Especially after that little argument with the Kyuubi boy, I assume you're feeling pretty messed up, right?"

I decided to just ignore the man in front of me, as I wiped my eyes and stood up, ready to attack him if needs be.

In the far distance, I heard the clattering of Kunai hitting each other, and a very faint argument between Naruto and Kiba. I looked in that direction and the man before me laughed.

"They aren't having a fight. Well … not with each other. I sent men to attack them, and to lure them here, where we are. This is going to be fun!"

"Fuck off, Kabuto, and leave my friends alone."

He raised his eyebrows and took a step back. "Oooh, touchy today aren't we? You're still calling Naruto you're friend? After he practically told you you were a horrible, terrible one? That doesn't seem very fair does it?"

"That's life, Kabuto. Nothing is fair. And Naruto will always be my best friend no matter what he or anyone else says."

Kabuto chuckled once more as the sound of the fighting got a lot closer. He pulled out six kunai and held three in each hand expertly. He was looking for a fight, and I _really_ felt like giving him one.

"Oh, so you think you're gonna win?" He took the three kunai from his right hand and placed them into his left. "I highly doubt that somehow."

He clicked his fingers, and once more a huge pain ran through my abdomen, doubling the one I already had. My eyesight went blurry and I clutched my stomach, hoping to make the pain stop.

I doubled over and briefly saw Kabuto looking down at me, smirking. I tried to stand up and ran towards him to punch that smirk off his face, but he clicked his fingers once more, and I screamed in pain as it felt like I was exploding on the inside out.

I could hear Kiba and Naruto's argument, be it slightly fuzzy, and I heard Kakashi's scream of my name, before the other two stopped and realised what was going on.

I fell to the floor as he stabbed my side with a kunai and cried in pain. He said hello to my three teammates before he bent down and slung me over his shoulder.

"I think it's about time you came with me." He whispered as I was losing consciousness. He flung a kunai at what I think was Naruto, as he repeated shouted 'bastard' and 'Sakura'. I heard footsteps that were undoubtedly his and I felt Kabuto kick him in the stomach, and, by the sounds of it, knocking him into a tree.

Akamaru barked a few times and I assumed it was Kiba's turn to try and get me from Kabuto, but he was beaten also.

I heard Kabuto laugh and a big explosion, before he disappeared with me on his shoulder and the next thing I just about saw was a dark, dank corridor, before finally closed my eyes and slipped into unconsciousness …

**Wow. I really, really don't like this chapter. Nothing that I planned to happen from the forest scene onwards actually happened lol.**

**On the bright side, now she's at Orochimaru's lair, guess who we'll be bumping into again ;) Let the SasuSakuness BEGIN!**

**Don't you guys just almost hate Naruto for what he said!? I dunno how it happened! I did warn you of OOCness, so please don't flame me saying **'WTF? Naruto would never say things like that! This story sucks!'** well … I'll allow the last sentence but the rest I'll scream =)**

**I hoped people liked the little Kiba and Naruto scene towards the beginning, I had that bit in my head for a very long time, I started with the whole 'collapse on Sakura's bed' thing (please don't ask me how he got into her room, he's Naruto, he finds ways to do anything) and then thought that conversation would be fun to have! I needed some humour in this chapter, especially with the way it turned out!**

**About Naruto's OOCness and why he is nothing like himself, lets just say Takara has changed his views on things. I mean, he has never met anyone, especially female, who is like him about things. Konan seriously knows what she's doing, bravo! =)**

**Also IMPORTANT! If you've read all that babble well done but anyway … **

**This may be the last time I update for a while. I know it's been almost a month since my last update and I'll try to do this when I can but … I'm joining 6****th**** Form on Friday, I got my timetable yesterday and I have a few free periods of doing nothing, but I don't know if that means I can go home or whatever. So yeah, I got my GCSE results last week! (For anyone who this that knows what GCSEs are and have/will take them) And they were pretty good, but yeah, I'll try to write on weekends and maybe on a notepad during free lessons if I can, but I honestly don't know how long it will be until my next update. Sorry yall! I do feel bad about it. Honestly!**

**So yeah … please review!!!**

**For every review I get, a kunai will be thrown at Kabuto! You hate the guy, right?**

**Then REVIEW!!!!**

**Over and out =)**

**-x-Emma-x-**

**PS: If Maxine ever gets around to reading this like she said she would, sorry for the swearing =)**


	8. Awkward Reunion

**I'M ALIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! Hey guys, umm … I'm not sure if "I'm sorry" is gonna cut it, but I'M SORRY! I know I haven't written for six months, but that is changing NOW! I was re-reading chapter 7 and realised that I really wanted to write it again, forget coursework and A Levels, focus on writing for once. So I am =D But seriously, I did not plan for it to be so long, so I am very sorry for that.**

**This chapter is dedicated to:**

_**Fyreyce **_**(Formerly **_**Recurring Soul**_**, formerly **_**Satsujin Akuma**_** hehe) Cookie for you once again (I'm feeding you too much =p)**

_**Ladyrouge214**_

_**Siah Yasana**_

_**-hinata-sk8ter-girl-**_

_**Sakuraangel1327**_

**For reviewing chapter 7 =) You guys are awesome, and thanks to you five kunai were thrown at Kabuto so you guys rock =D**

**Once again, very sorry and I'll try to be much quicker next time so don't hate me! =(**

**NOTE: And woah, reading back even further (chapter 5 to be precise) I realised that apparently Hinata and Naruto were meant to be together now… and I've probably said that in the past too … which really doesn't go with last chapter, or when he met Takara … because he wouldn't cheat on Hinata (I wouldn't let him) So … just say they AREN'T together yet … (YET) but Naruto still tried match-making or whatever the excuse in chapter 5 was … yeah …**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I didn't get **_**Naruto**_** for Christmas by Kishimoto last year … he gave me socks instead … (that's a joke btw)**

**ENJOY!!!**

_**Previously on 'The Wrong One' …**_

_I could hear Kiba and Naruto's argument, be it slightly fuzzy, and I heard Kakashi's scream of my name, before the other two stopped and realised what was going on._

_I fell to the floor as he stabbed my side with a kunai and cried in pain. He said hello to my three teammates before he bent down and slung me over his shoulder._

"_I think it's about time you came with me." He whispered as I was losing consciousness. He flung a kunai at what I think was Naruto, as he repeated shouted 'bastard' and 'Sakura'. I heard footsteps that were undoubtedly his and I felt Kabuto kick him in the stomach, and, by the sounds of it, knocking him into a tree._

_Akamaru barked a few times and I assumed it was Kiba's turn to try and get me from Kabuto, but he was beaten also._

_I heard Kabuto laugh and a big explosion, before he disappeared with me on his shoulder and the next thing I just about saw was a dark, dank corridor, before finally closed my eyes and slipped into unconsciousness …_

**Chapter 8: Awkward Reunion**

"The BASTARD!"

Kakashi sighed once more at Naruto's repetitive shouts as he punched down on the rock he was sitting on once more, causing it to almost break into quarters.

"Sit still, Naruto. Consider yourself lucky I was carrying Sakura's medical equipment. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to bandage you up and you wouldn't be able to continue on this mission. It was a pretty hard blow you suffered, Kabuto's definitely been learning."

"But Kakashi, he took Sakura. He TOOK Sakura. I've never seen her in so much pain. I didn't know she was on her period during this mission…"

Naruto trailed off, leaving Kakashi to ponder whether Sakura ever told him such things, before shaking it off and continuing to wrap Naruto up.

"It wasn't anything like that."

Kakashi and Naruto stopped what they were doing and glanced over at Kiba, who was sitting on the same rock Sakura was situated little over 30 minutes before. His head was down, fiddling with his fingers. Kakashi got up and walked over to him as Naruto followed suite, forgetting momentarily about the bandages.

Kakashi placed a hand on Kiba's shoulder as Akamaru whined quietly, feeling his owner's pain. Kiba didn't look up once, but knew his teammates were questioning him. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair before resting his hands on the back of his neck.

"I told her I wouldn't tell you this … those pains in her stomach … Kabuto gave them to her … that time he came and we fought in the forest, he "healed" her when she wounded her stomach, but it turned out he just did something like that to her … I questioned her about it when I noticed her in pain that night, and I promised I wouldn't tell you guys because we knew how paranoid you'd get … and I told her she was being paranoid … God I'm such an idiot …"

He hung his head even lower, and there was a long silence between the three males as the loudmouth and the porn-lover registered their thoughts and enabled the confession Kiba told to sink in.

"So … you knew she was in pain, knowing that she was in pretty high danger … and yet you never told us?"

Naruto was being strangely calm, which unnerved the dog lover even more. He nodded once, still not meeting his teammates' eyes, waiting for the storm to approach.

"ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU CAN'T KNOW SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND NOT TELL US! DAMN RIGHT WE'D BE PARANOID, HER FUCKING LIFE WAS ON THE LINE! ALSO –"

"Naruto, I think you should quit while you're ahead. You haven't been doing anyone any favours today so I think you should cool off. Kiba knows he was in the wrong to hide it but there's not a lot we can do about that now. What matters is he told us. Now, Kiba, is there anything else we need to know?"

It was then that Kiba finally looked up at Kakashi. He looked slightly older, but that could've been due to the stress he'd been through today. He shook his head slowly, focusing back on the grass beneath his feet. Kakashi sighed and grabbed Naruto by the collar, pulling him backwards as he could tell something dangerous would happen to Kiba if he didn't.

"We'll set up camp here. It's too dark to move out now. We'll continue heading towards Orochimaru's hideout tomorrow."

Naruto glared at Kiba before waving his arm dramatically and throwing his previously neat bag onto the floor, where the contents now spewed out on the floor. He shook his sleeping bag out roughly, not even bothering to set up his tent.

Kiba slid off the rock silently, afraid to make any noise that would cause the volcano to erupt inside Naruto. He knew he was going to get a lot of shit for it, but all that mattered to him was that Sakura was found and brought back to them safely.

Brought back to _him_.

* * *

**Meanwhile………………..**

I woke up groggily, squinting as I faced what seemed to be the only source of light I could find. My head was whirling too fast for me to comprehend and my vision blurred occasionally. I was surprised, having feeling strangely no pain after the blows I received. I turned my head to try and figure out where I was, and realised it couldn't move much due to the fact that I was apparently chained to a wall.

I could have kicked myself for not realising that before if … I wasn't chained to a wall …

Humour aside, I glanced upwards to the chains that held my wrists. They seemed pretty strong, but I'm sure it wouldn't take much effort for me to break them when I regained my strength. My ankles seemed to be bound in tighter chains, but I figured I could break them too. My head flopped down again, as the strength I mustered up to look around seemed to vanish without a trace. My eyes rolled upwards to look through the tiny window on the door, which allowed the only light into the room.

I closed my eyes, feeling suddenly sleepy and faint again, as I began to hear muffled voices outside the door. I couldn't quite make out which voice belonged to who, and I didn't really care. As the many secure locks on the rusty door clicked, however, I was slightly more awake than before.

Suddenly the door sprang open quicker than it probably should have, allowing light to flow into the room, happy to not be restrained anymore.

I lifted my head up slightly and squinted at the silhouette emerging from the light. I couldn't tell who it was due to my eyes not functioning properly, but I knew it was a male.

Which, I suppose, didn't really narrow it down much.

Feeling faint once again, I lower my head, before a sharp, cold object rests under my chin and lifts it back up.

I strain to keep my eyes open as I see the silhouette clearer now. Spiky hair, slightly chunky yet insanely muscular, deep, dark, onyx eyes boring emotionlessly into mine, and a stoic expression to boot.

It can't be …

Holy shit …

"Sasuke?"

**The end of chapter 8! I know it's short and very very crappy, but as you can see throughout I had good parts and absolutely terrible parts hehe. I promise I will try to update this sooner, especially now Sasuke is FINALLY in it and the SasuSaku can begin! *boogies* Yeah ……… so anyway … thank you for reading, if you still are ^.^ and if you are a reader that I'm currently reading a story of that has had about 5 chapters updated that I haven't reviewed yet … I will, I promise, but I had time off of coursework today and really wanted to get this up for you guys … as a treat of waiting 6 months for me hehe …**

**Over and Out,**

**-x-Emma-x-**

**P.S: I really do love you guys! It's you that give me motivation when I need it! So I LOVE YOU ALL! =D**


	9. More Than Meets The Eye

**=O what's this? CCRox4Eva is back so soon? THAT'S RIGHT, FOLKS! Only I am now …**

**BANANAPHONEBOB!**

**I've been wanting to change my name for aaaaages, but only just got round to it (like most things) so …… yeah =)**

**This chapter is dedicated to:**

_**Fyreyce**_

_**zara dragon**_

**I'm strongy dedicating this chapter to the two of you because **_**Fyreyce**_**, I've ran out of cookies and **_**zara dragon**_**, you've pushed me up to the 50 REVIEWS MARK! :D So I really thank you guys a lot. **

**Disclaimer: BananaphoneBob does not own Naruto or any of its stuff. I only own the crappy storyline =)**

**ALSO: Major OOCness with Sasuke and Sakura! Just to make it funny =D**

**Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy!!! =D**

_**Previously on 'The Wrong One' …**_

_Feeling faint once again, I lower my head, before a sharp, cold object rests under my chin and lifts it back up._

_I strain to keep my eyes open as I see the silhouette clearer now. Spiky hair, slightly chunky yet insanely muscular, deep, dark, onyx eyes boring emotionlessly into mine, and a stoic expression to boot._

_It can't be …_

_Holy shit …_

"_Sasuke?"_

**Chapter 9: More Than Meets The Eye ...**

**Sakura's POV**

I had somehow woken up fully between the time the sword touched my chin and the time it took to realise who was on the other end of it. I knew I looked like an idiot with my mouth hanging open and my eyes wide, but I didn't care.

It was only then I realised Kabuto and Orochimaru were also in the room behind him. Orochimaru sniggered evilly and Kabuto whispered something in his ear. Then the two creeps left my ex-comrade alone with me, deliberately slamming the door shut loudly to leave an echo ringing during this awkward silence.

We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, his sword still under my chin. Even though he was as emotionally open as a brick wall, I occasionally caught a glimpse of confusion in his eyes at my blank face. At that moment I was rather thankful I'd been given a while to perfect my façade, knowing he wouldn't be able to read me quite as easily as he thought he would.

After a very long while (at that point I decided I should invest in a watch), he moved his sword swiftly, and I almost missed what happened next.

Which, I have to say, shocked me quite a bit.

Before I knew what was going on, he slashed the chains around my feet, followed soon by slashing the ones at my wrists.

I cursed gravity as I fell to the ground, though thankfully keeping on my feet. I rubbed my sore wrists briefly, contemplating whether to heal myself or not. If I did, it would alert Sasuke of my strength and ability, and he would no doubt tell Orochimaru, where I'd be locked here forever. However, if they already knew about what I could do, which was why they brought me here, I figured there would be no harm in showing off a little.

So I did just that.

Out of the corner of my eye I watched Sasuke's expression closely as I healed. He seemed slightly intrigued, but otherwise didn't care.

That was when I remembered you can't show off in front of an Uchiha.

Bummer.

Despite the irritation growing inside of me, I finished the job and surveyed my wrists to make sure they were completely healed. The work was a little shabby considering I barely had any chakra, but it would hold up for now.

I turned to face the dark haired man again and inspected him better now my eyesight was fully restored. He was much taller, from what I could tell I was about the height of his shoulder, which bugged me more than it should have. He was very muscular, and you could see the start of his six-pack beneath the large slit in his shirt. He had filled out a healthy amount too; he wasn't too skinny yet he wasn't too big. His hair was slightly longer, his bangs framing his stoic face. His eyes were just as dark as they used to be, yet slightly more hypnotic and had a glint of red in them.

In short, he was just as gorgeous as he used to be.

Damn him.

He was staring back at me, and for a moment it seemed like he was observing my changes too. Since I'd said his name neither of us had spoken, and realising this made me more unnerved by him. So, I did the first thing I could think of.

I walked closer, closing the gap between us. I looked up at his face as his eyes bore into mine. I shifted my façade to that of disbelief. I had a fake look of love in my eyes and I saw the annoyance flicker in his. Which meant he believed it. The idiot. I slowly started to raise my hand, and was slightly surprised when he didn't react to it. I stopped moving it halfway between his face and mine, and tilted my head to the left.

Before slapping him really, _really_ hard.

As my hand came into contact with his face, a look of surprise flashed in both our eyes. His surprised at my strength and action, mine surprised that he actually didn't see it coming.

His hand rose to his cheek as I clenched my fists, determination written all over my face. He smirked that annoying (coughsexycough) smirk of his and faced me fully.

"Still weak, I see."

I was thrown back. There was no way that hit didn't hurt him at all. Yet there he stood, the red hand print fading and the victorious smirk still plastered on his face. I breathed deeply, venting out my anger and bit my bottom lip hard.

"Still annoying, I see."

I smiled sweetly as he glowered at me. I was glad I was able to throw an insult back, especially one that he used on me so long ago. He chuckled slightly and withdrew his sword, before dropping it on the ground. "I'm not here to fight you, Sakura. I'm here to take you."

My heart leapt a little, despite knowing he obviously didn't mean it that way. "I'm sorry, but it's a little too late to ask me on a date now, Sasuke. Maybe next time though, yeah?" I did a little victory dance in my head at how well I was responding. Sure I'd practiced in front of the picture of Team 7 at home, but considering this was the real Sasuke, looking more godly than usual, I was proud of myself.

I could see him getting more annoyed with me by the second, and I just folded my arms and continued to smile at him.

"I was sent in here because I know you. Orochimaru-sama –"

"Woah, woah, woah. Sama? Since when is Orochimaru 'Orochimaru-_sama_'"

I noticed him glance at his sword, which was too close to me for him to kill me before me getting it first. "Orochimaru has got a surprise for you. He knew you wouldn't go with him or Kabuto, so asked me to bring you."

I widened my eyes and my mouth was agape. "That was the longest sentence you've ever said. Congratulations. But you can tell that snake and his paedophilic boyfriend that I won't be going with them, with you, or anyone. All I'm going is back to Konoha."

"And let me guess. You want me to go with you, right?"

I smiled briefly. "To be quite honest, I don't care whether you come with me or not. Yes, that was what part of the mission was about, but I'm no longer with my squad. You and I both know that when they find me they will also try to get you back, but I've changed, Sasuke. I'm not the stupid little naïve girl you once hated. I'm not gonna fawn over you and pretend you know I exist. I won't constantly tell you I love you and I'm definitely not gonna pretend I like you. Where Naruto and Tsunade and Kakashi all have the false hope you're gonna say 'fuck Orochimaru, fuck power, fuck Itachi, I'm going home', I don't. You wanna take me to wherever? Then take me, but I am _not_ gonna do it out of weakness or love. I'm doing it because I might as well try to complete my mission while I'm here."

Okay, so half of that was a bit of a lie, but he doesn't need to know. I blinked before turning around to face the door, partly to hint at leaving, partly to not look at his face.

Before I knew what was happening, I was thrown into the wall. The impact turned me around and I blinked as Sasuke grabbed my wrists in one hand and rested on the wall with the other. Our faces were inches apart, our breath lingering on the others' neck. He chuckled a bit, looking deep into my eyes.

I swallowed.

He smirked.

"Hmm. You _have_ changed. Thank Kami for that."

And with that, he backed away from me and opened the door, the smirk never leaving his face. I glared at him before walking out, keeping my eyes on him the whole time. I watched him shut the door and stand behind me. "Move, then."

I scowled before I started walking. I was confused as to why I was at the front since I didn't know where to go, but figured it was because he didn't trust me. Like usual. I turned slightly to face him, and noticed he somehow got his sword from the floor of my room. I turned back and carried on walking.

**

* * *

****Sasuke POV**

As we walked down the winding passages, I couldn't but replay everything she had just said. _'I won't constantly tell you I love you and I'm definitely not gonna pretend I like you.'_ She was harder to read than she used to be, and, even though I felt certain that she _didn't_ mean that, an annoying part of me told me that she did. Though I could hide it, I felt a little bit downhearted when she said that, though I have no idea why. I never liked her, hell I never even pretended to like her. She was just the girl in my team that I was forced to protect all the time. She grew really irritating but, at the same time, it felt good when I was with her. She always liked me and constantly told me she loved me, and though I hated it … I didn't hate her.

"Turn left and it's straight down to the end."

"Yes, sir!"

I was becoming more irritated by this new her than the one I knew. Her sarcasm was bitter and her face was almost always emotionless. I knew I was the one that made her this way and I know I could've done things better and she was _meant_ to live her life and carry on but … she told me she'd love me forever.

I guess that was what I'd always depended on.

We stopped at the end of the corridor and she folded her arms and looked at me, her eyes cold and bored. I knocked on the door and within seconds Kabuto had opened it, peering round to look at Sakura, a malicious smile on his face. A feeling grew inside my stomach but I pushed it back, figuring it was nothing.

"Come on in, Sakura. We've been waiting for you."

Sakura looked once more at me, before going through the door, staying as far away as possible from Kabuto. I took a step forward, but Kabuto held his hand up to me.

"I'm afraid you can't come in just yet. If you wait here we'll let you in later, but right now, we just need the girl."

I glared at Kabuto as he smiled and shut the door on me. I didn't care that I was excluded from what was happening, I just knew that whatever it was I needed to be in there.

"Sharingan!"

If they weren't going to tell me, I guess I'll have to figure it out myself.

**End of chapter 9! I know it's a really bad ending, and Sasuke is so OOC it'll kill everyone, but I wanted a bit of SasuSaku-y kind of stuff so figured I'd do that … but now you see why I never write from Sasuke's point of view lol. **

**I made it a nice long chapter so that you actually have something to read this time, and I have to say I was rather disappointed when I only got two reviews for the last chapter. I appreciate people adding it to favourites or whatever but PLEASE REVIEW! You people don't understand how much work I have to have done by tomorrow for school and yet I've spent most of my day writing this instead, so I would like at least a little feedback from more than two people, even if it's just a 'good' or 'bad'. Criticism is accepted, I know I suck and I need you to tell me how I can make it better! **

**So please, please review! I NEED them! I had to force myself to write this because I felt so downhearted that only two people said they liked it, so PLEAAAAAAAAAASE! Every review brings me closer to writing a new chapter, and I really want to get more up quicker!**

**I have two essays plus drama coursework to do today, and I'm really really ill, so please make me feel better by reviewing! Don't just favourite or story alert it! **

**Over and out **

**-x-Emma-x-**


	10. When The Going Gets Tough

**Helloooo! Tis I, BananaphoneBob after so long without anything but a measly little one-shot (That I think people should R&R, because they love me) and no chapters for TWO.**

**Well, I'm BACK! And I do have a reason as to why I haven't updated for so long.**

**That reason being: my laptop broke.**

**It was a sad time all around, someone spilt her drink all over it and it just went kaput :( So I was distraught, with no way of writing anything, then for my birthday I got a new computer but still had none of my stories or anything and it just didn't motivate me, until I wrote True Colours (the measly little one-shot) and had another idea come into my head, so I wrote down that idea (that I think will be good) but I said to myself 'No. Focus on the stories you have right now before starting any others!' so … here I am :)**

**I'd like to say a big thank you to:**

_**.YUI.22. **_**(cookie for you :D)**

_**Luka1Sakura**_

_**Defenestration of the Mind**_

_**sasusaku-EienAi**_

_**Liquid Insanity**_

**for reviewing the last chapter, and for bringing a couple of new reviewers! It was looking back at all your praise that helped me decide to do this right now :)**

**Disclaimer: BananaphoneBob wishes she does, but unfortunately does not own anything but the plot...**

**Anyhoo … ENJOY!**

_**Previously on 'The Wrong One' …**_

_I glared at Kabuto as he smiled and shut the door on me. I didn't care that I was excluded from what was happening, I just knew that whatever it was I needed to be in there._

_"Sharingan!"_

_If they weren't going to tell me, I guess I'll have to figure it out myself._

**Chapter 10:When the Going Gets Tough**

She ran. She didn't know where, she didn't know how far, but she ran. Her attacker was gaining speed, making the distance between them thin out. A kunai was thrown at her and she dodged it professionally, impressing the man who threw it.

From tree branch to tree branch she jumped, becoming overly cocky as she widened the distance once again. She looked back briefly and saw the man's agitated face, and smirked as she turned around, only to be met with a small branch she hadn't noticed as it caused her to trip, falling off the branch she was on and heading for the ground far below.

Her follower saw this, and his eyes widened as he shot down to rescue her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and the back of her neck, as he saw her smirk evilly. She used his position to twist them around, kicking him off of her and landing on the ground with a small 'thud', compared to his crashing and falling. He landed on his back, groaning as he lifted his head up, watching her walk towards him and sit on his stomach, a kunai pressed against his neck.

"Didn't see that coming, did ya?"

He sighed and placed his head back on the ground as she rolled off of him and sat to his side. He leant up, squinting in pain as he did so, and heard the girl chuckle.

"Seriously, Sasuke. That was a standard rookie trick. I can't believe you fell for it."

Sasuke scowled and used the sleeve of his white shirt to wipe some blood off of his cheek.

"I was told to see what you can do. Clearly, you haven't surpassed Genin level. I'm disappointed, Sakura."

Sakura's nostrils flared, and she punched him fiercely in the head, making him fly against the tree behind him. The impact of his skull caused the tree to break, landing with a 'bang' behind Sasuke.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What did you say?"

Sasuke grunted and hoisted himself up as she walked slowly towards him, pulling her gloves up.

"I said, that I was told to see what you could do."

"Bless. And if Orochimaru asked you to jump off a cliff, would you do that?" She had a playful smirk on her face as she read his, knowing she'd hit a nerve.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and smirked back. "Gee, I don't know. But the question is, if I jumped off a cliff, would you?"

Sakura's breath hitched in her throat as those words left his mouth. Her eyed widened and she was distracted long enough for Sasuke to appear behind her, his kunai against the flesh of her neck, his breath tickling her ear.

"Clearly, you haven't surpassed Genin level, Sakura."

His whisper received no reply as the Sakura he was holding transformed into a log. He blinked several times before something hard hit his back, pushing him down to the ground and remaining on top of him.

"Clearly, I have."

Sasuke grunted and wiggled in an attempt to get Sakura off of him, but after a punch to his back he fell to the ground once more, staying still so as he would not endure more pain.

"So, do you give up? Do I win?"

Sasuke inwardly rolled his eyes as she resumed her childish ways. Knowing she had him at a dead end, and that she would repeatedly attack him until he gave in, he chose to let her have that win. She got off of his back, after making him swear he wouldn't attack her any more, and helped him sit up in order to heal his wounds.

"Now, this may hurt a little, but just try to concentrate on something else. It's a good thing I had a spare medical bag..." Sakura took the bag of medical supplies she brought with her and got out the things she would need. Sasuke watched her the entire time, noting how concentrated she was as she placed her hands over a wound on his side and glowed a luminous green.

The Uchiha had to admit, he was impressed at her new abilities. Back when they were all genin, she was an average ninja with the tendency to get into a lot of trouble, but in the small amount of time since, she had become a medic ninja, a chunin (as he'd found out a few hours before) and could really pack a punch. She had grown, even appearance wise, for the better.

Sasuke blinked briefly, shaking his head to banish that thought from his mind. He wasn't one to even think about appearance, particularly of his pink-haired ex-comrade. Maybe, he thought, it was due to the fact that he hadn't had any female company since he'd left the village, and the only people he had seen for the past three years were Orochimaru and Kabuto, and they weren't exactly great company.

He studied the ninja in a more detailed way, from her shiny, pink, shoulder-length hair, down to her knee-high ninja boots. She seemed a bit more tanned than he remembered, but there was a lot of sunshine around at this time of year. He knew she was taller, and maybe reached his chin. Instead of a dress, she wore a short sleeved top with the Haruno symbol on the back, a pink thigh-length skirt with black shorts underneath, black gloves, pink elbow protectors and the boots. She had curves in the right places, and her skin looked really smooth.

Sasuke clenched his fist and punched the ground, knowing it was either that or his head. He shouldn't think thoughts like that. He closed his eyes, trying to rid the images of Sakura away.

"Sasuke? I've finished, you know. The painful bit is long over."

Said ninja opened one eye and glanced up. Sakura was standing over him, eyebrow raised, her medical bag all packed and she was ready to leave.

Sasuke stood up, partly surprised that she'd managed to heal him so quickly. He brushed his clothes down, and looked back up Sakura. She'd already started walking towards Orochimaru's base. She turned her head and nodded in the direction she was walking in, before flying up into the treetops. Sasuke followed, swiftly catching up to her as they ran beside each other.

* * *

"Judging by the scents … we're still about two days away, and that's if we took very short stops. Otherwise … it'll be much longer."

Naruto groaned as Kiba and Akamaru sniffed the air after using Sakura's medical bag that Kakashi kept with him in case they were split up during a mission. Kiba sat on the ground beside Akamaru, who whined and placed his head on Kiba's shoulder.

"What are you doing? Get up! We have to keep going!"

Kakashi sighed at his blonde student "Naruto, look at us. We've been running non-stop for hours, even if we carried on and was able to find her, do you really think we could get her back? Not all of us have a Kuubi's chakra, you know. We need to rest."

Naruto glared at his teacher, before closing his eyes and flopping to the ground, thankful the majority of his wounds from his previous battle had already healed. He looked up at the sky, watching the clouds roll by. He sighed and closed his eyes once more, letting himself take a moment of rest. His thoughts drifted to Takara, and he felt a pang of pain in his heart. Just a couple of days ago, he was ready to ditch his best friend for a girl he randomly met in a ramen bar. And now, there was a chance he would never talk to either of them again. Not liking that thought, he clutched the grass around him tightly, ripping a few blades off. He felt a hand grip his shoulder, and looked up to find Kakashi sitting down beside him.

"We'll get her back, Naruto. We'll get him back, too. Everything will work out."

And with that, he stood back up and went to collect wood for a fire as the sun started to set.

As night came around, the three males (and dog) sat by the blazing fire in silence, none of them having the strength to speak. Akamaru fell asleep as Kiba ate slowly, his chocolate eyes gazing into the fire. Kakashi had his book in front of him, yet the boys could tell that he wasn't really reading it, and Naruto looked down into his empty cup that used to contain ramen, thinking about his pink-haired friend.

Not even Naruto dared to break the silence as Kakashi stood up and went over to his tent, nodding his goodnights to the two teammates, knowing fully well that neither had noticed.

As Kiba finished the rest of his food, he gently nudged Akamaru awake, making him get up and head towards the tent they shared. Kiba ran a hand through his hair as he finally pulled his eyes away from the fire to look at Naruto, who was slowly getting up to go to his tent. Naruto looked back and they stared at each other for a while, before Naruto slung his bag over his shoulder and headed in for the night.

Kiba hung his head, furrowing his eyebrows as he closed his eyes and placed two fingers at his temple, rubbing it slowly. He looked up to the dark sky, taking a deep breath in, trying to get any kind of scent which may have blown their direction. Failing that, he flung his rubbish into his bag carelessly, before looking back up at the sky.

"Sakura … where are you?"

* * *

Dark eyes scanned the area that contained the smoke from a fire, and a smirk appeared on the person's lips. The stranger glanced at the brown haired boy, who stood up and sighed before walking into his tent. One hand clutched an object while the other held onto the branch that was currently being laid on. Legs swung and the stranger, female, hopped off the branch and onto the ground, being careful to mask her chakra and be very stealthy in her moves. She crept towards the three tents, knowing which one she was aiming for, and slowly pulled back the opening. She looked at the sleeping, snoring figure lying on the ground before her, before pulling a look of disgust and placing the object neatly in the corner, before closing the tent back up and walking away.

_'Phase two: Complete.'

* * *

_

**WOO! Another chapter is UP! You have no idea how long it took me to write this chapter! Well, obviously you do because you've been waiting for it for so long but … meh anyway. I'm in a very happy mood today as today marks the anniversary of me and my boyfriend, so I felt like sharing my happiness by actually finishing this chapter :D **

**I know a couple of bits are screwed up, and, despite trying to be secretive, I think it's pretty obvious who is being spoken about in the last part … but I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless. **

**Also, hope you enjoyed the mini SasuSaku part there, I felt I should start with something by now, and I quite liked how I wrote it :3 And considering we haven't heard from the boys for about 2 chapters, I also thought I'd throw a bit of that in too :)**

**SO! Who is this stranger? What is the object? What's going to happen with everyone?**

**Truth is, for two of those three questions, I have absolutely no clue. I don't know what I was thinking when I spoke about an 'object' and have no idea what it's gonna be, so I'm guessing it might be a bit of a wait (again) for the next chapter D: **

**Finally, completely out of the blue, what do **_**YOU**_** want to see in this fic? Tell me, because I genuinely want to know. Do you want more SasuSaku parts? More of the boys? More actual story rather than just random crap? Do you wanna tell me what the object could be? I want to know where you want this story to go, or where you think it should go. Depending on how many I get, I'll try to add everyone's things into it, and it might make my writing a bit quicker! YAY for reader participation! **

**Right-o, I'm off now, I tried starting a new fic earlier (I know … I need to concentrate on these but MEH) so I might continue that, or start the new chapter of **_**Burnt Toast**_** (which, if you haven't read, you should :p) or just sit back and refresh my e-mails until I get at least one review xD Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and once again, sorry for the lateness :)**

**I LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**-x-Emma-x-**


	11. Some Things Are Best Kept Secret

**So … uhh … hi … **

**I know, I totally suck. I've apologized waaaay too many times to you guys in the past, giving you my (pretty valid) excuses, when really I've just been lazy. But, I got speakers for Christmas (woohoo!) and lately I've been watching YouTube videos and reading more fics and it's motivated me to write again. I suck at dedication to stuff, seriously, I barely even attempt my school work because I'm so lazy, I know it's bad, but I just can't help it. I've REALLY tried, but I can just never get motivated for stuff! (Unless it's Facebook … I'm on that 24/7)**

**So anyway, I'm gonna try to get this chapter done, and see what happens, I appear to be losing reviewers, but I have only myself to blame for that one, so meh.**

**I'd like to dedicate this chapter to:**

_**xRosyGuren **_**(cookies for you!)**

_**Sakuraangel1327**_

_**WhatChuuKnowBoutMe**_

_**Luka1Sakura**_

**For somehow putting up with me, and for **_**WhatChuuKnowBoutMe**_**, for giving me some ideas for this story, they helped :)  
**

**Disclaimer: So I totally wrote a funny one, then reading back in further chapters, realised I actually wrote the exact same thing last year. So I'm just gonna stick to: I don't own Naruto!**

**Anyhoo, ON WITH THE SHOW!**

_**Previously on 'The Wrong One' …**_

_Dark eyes scanned the area that contained the smoke from a fire, and a smirk appeared on the person's lips. The stranger glanced at the brown haired boy, who stood up and sighed before walking into his tent. One hand clutched an object while the other held onto the branch that was currently being laid on. Legs swung and the stranger, female, hopped off the branch and onto the ground, being careful to mask her chakra and be very stealthy in her moves. She crept towards the three tents, knowing which one she was aiming for, and slowly pulled back the opening. She looked at the sleeping, snoring figure lying on the ground before her, before pulling a look of disgust and placing the object neatly in the corner, before closing the tent back up and walking away._

_'Phase two: Complete.'_

**Chapter 11: Some Things Are Best Kept Secret.**

She woke up to the sound of footsteps approaching her room. She figured it must be morning, but with no windows, it was hard to tell. Sure enough, keys jingled around by her door, and she wasn't surprised to see Kabuto standing there, his glasses reflecting light from the corridor.

"Sakura-san. Orochimaru wants to see you."

She stretched and sat up, facing Kabuto with a smile on her face. "Well, tell him I don't want to see him."

Kabuto chucked, and in the space of a blink, had managed to pin her against the wall. If she wasn't awake before, she definitely was now.

Kabuto's smile was sinister. "What I meant to say is: 'you're _going _to see Orochimaru now. You have no choice in the matter."

The kunoichi glared as Kabuto dropped her. She fell to the ground, having had barely any chakra since she arrived, and stood up, wobbling, before following Kabuto down the hall.

She raised her hand to her neck, as if feeling for something that wasn't there, before putting her hand back down. Her eyes remained blank, but inside she was panicking. _'Where did it go? I can't believe I never noticed before! It must've come off while with Sasuke or something … I'm so stupid!'_

Her thoughts were interrupted as Kabuto stopped and opened a door. Inside, Orochimaru was lying in a bed, his yellow eyes leering at the pink-haired girl, a smirk playing at his lips. Kabuto pushed Sakura inside, and led her forwards, close enough for Orochimaru to touch.

Her face creased at the sight of him. It was only the second time she'd been in this room, and it didn't make it any easier. Also, the first time she was brought in here, nothing had happened. No words were said, no moves were made. She was just made to stand there and look between the two creeps, wondering what was happening. She was a curious person, and the anticipation almost killed her. If she had to face that again, she would probably punch them.

"Why hello, Sakura-ssssan. I do trust Kabuto has been treating you … _well_, since your arrival?"

Sakura seethed. Kabuto had done nothing hospitable. He pushed her around, threw her food into the room before harshly locking it again, he made her follow him like it was what she was made for … and as she looked into his eyes now, his smirk told her that if she didn't respond in a way he liked, she would feel the pain later.

"It's been fine."

"And Sasuke-kun has kept you trained?"

"Yes. He's kept me on my toes."

Silence ensued. She wasn't sure if she was grateful for that or not.

She sighed, and opened her mouth.

"Why am I here?"

Orochimaru looked up at her and smirked. "Well, you're a blunt one, aren't you?"

"I'm not needed. Sasuke's the one who's giving you his body, am I just here to watch? You have no use for me."

Orochimaru chuckled darkly. "True, you are no use to anyone. Not like this."

Sakura, getting tired with the cryptic answers, pulled her fist back with the intention to break a few bones.

Unfortunately, Kabuto's hand intercepted, and crushed hers before she even moved it. She winced due to the pain of a possible broken hand, but attempted to ignore it.

"I want answers, Orochimaru. Why am I here? What did you mean by 'not like this'?"

Orochimaru nodded to Kabuto as if to say 'let her go', and he did. Kabuto pushed his glasses back up his nose and faced Sakura head on. "You are here for reasons we cannot divulge yet. You will know soon enough. It's time for Orochimaru to rest, now. Leave. Go do whatever you want, be back in your room by nightfall. If you're not, you'll suffer."

Sakura scoffed, before leaving the room. She shut the door firmly with her non-broken hand, and went to walk away, until she heard words that made her lean against the door.

"She's still blissfully unaware of the power she has. After observing her matches with Sasuke-san, I've noticed she hasn't used any different skills. She's just as useless as she was as a Genin, if not more so. Only difference is, she can speak to Sasuke-san."

"Well that's a shame. I'd hoped she'd unleash something by now. At least then we'd know that she would be ready to become my vessel …"

Sakura had heard enough. Angry, she ran towards a corridor filled with rooms. She knew Sasuke's room was somewhere along this row, she'd just have to find it. Since he hid his chakra everywhere he went, that option was out, so she did the next best thing.

She kicked every door down. Quickly. Loudly.

She didn't care if people heard; her and Sasuke were the only other people there anyway, and if he happened to come out of his room to see what the commotion was about, all the better.

She reached a door and felt a slither of Sasuke's chakra. He'd obviously been so caught up in whatever he was doing, whilst trying to ignore the banging from outside, that he accidentally caught himself off guard for a split second.

BANG

He gazed up from his book impassively, as if she's simply knocked and he'd allowed her to enter. She stood at the doorway, breathing raggedly and sharply, glaring at him as if her life depended on it.

Sasuke sighed and placed his book down, before sitting up properly. "What do you want, Sa-"

He was interrupted by Sakura grabbing his collar and slamming him against the wall painfully. He noticed she only did it with one hand, as the other looked bruised and broken.

"Why. Why the _fuck_ would you do that? It's not enough to leave Konoha, is it? I'm kidnapped, and that obviously just means more time to play around with me. Well I've had it, okay? I am nobody's butt-monkey!"

"Butt-mon-"

"SHUT UP! I was beginning to think that maybe us training together was like old times. But no, I'm just useless, aren't I? I'm just here to entertain you while Orochimaru finds things out about me. I'm just here to become his _fucking_ vessel."

At this, Sasuke was surprised. And showed it. Orochimaru had never told him the actual plans of his being there, and he just assumed that him being the vessel was all it was for. Then Sakura came along, and he wasn't really sure how to react. He realised that, although he didn't want to, he missed her. And Naruto, and Kakashi. But mostly her. He found out that she had got stronger, mentally and physically, and he was slightly proud. He knew that she only got stronger because he left and, although it was a bad thing, he was glad it seemed to help in some way.

He blinked at himself. He was acting weird. Why were all these thoughts about Sakura coming into his head? He didn't feel anything for her, hell, he didn't _feel_ at all. Yet here she was, holding him up to a wall, invading not only his thoughts but his personal bubble.

And he didn't like it.

Sasuke simply grabbed her bruised hand tightly, watching as she inhaled deeply and bit her lip to prevent her from making a noise (as if she was quiet in the lead up to this event). Her other hand let him go, and he dropped back onto the ground, his hand still holding her broken one. She continued to glare as she winced occasionally, before Sasuke let go. She brought her hand up to her chest, still glaring (seriously, this girl could win a glaring contest) before using her good hand to punch the wall.

Then things got weird.

Since her 'good' hand was the hand she never used to punch with, they both expected it to be a little weak. However, the gaping hole in the wall proved them both wrong. Sakura blinked at the mess she made, before remembering why she did it in the first place, thus bringing back her rage.

Then things got weirder.

The usual green glow of her chakra changed into a dark, murky grey. Her eyes darkened and narrowed.

To Sasuke, she reminded him of … well, himself.

Her lips curled back to show her teeth as she turned to face Sasuke, and his breath caught in his throat.

She looked so dangerous. Murderous.

She raised her fist once again, clearly intending to punch Sasuke. He didn't dare move; this was all new, he'd never heard of anything like this before. He had no idea what would happen if he managed to move away; he had no idea how fast she was. Or how capable she was.

Just before her fist came into contact with Sasuke, a hand blocked it, seeming completely unaffected. Sasuke twisted his head to see Kabuto in the room, as he released Sakura's hand and performed some seals before touching her neck, enabling her to pass out. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, walking out of the room without acknowledging Sasuke's existence.

Sasuke sat on his bed and ran a hand through his hair. He certainly had not been expecting that. He lay back down, mulling things over. What did Sakura mean by saying she was Orochimaru's vessel? He knew that he only came here to gain power, but he thought the vessel thing was something only he was capable of. Then again, he had never seen power like Sakura's before, not to mention Kabuto must've known something about it in order to stop it so nonchalantly.

Then something clicked in his mind. She had a secret. Something so secret, not even she knew about it.

But Kabuto and Orochimaru did.

And that's why she was to be his vessel.

But then, why would Orochimaru give him the opportunity to leave Konoha? To betray everyone he loved, in order to get power, in exchange for something.

Sasuke sat up again. Of course.

He never fully specified to Sasuke what _something_ was. Since he knew about Orochimaru needing a vessel, he simply thought it was going to be him taking part. But it wasn't.

Orochimaru made Sasuke come to him for power, because he knew that his comrades wouldn't stop wanting to bring him back. _Sakura_ wouldn't stop wanting to bring him back. If Orochimaru knew of this hidden power, and he knew Sakura would never betray the village, they waited for her to go on a mission, so that they could intercept her, bring her here, all because she just wouldn't give up on him.

Foolish girl.

Still, he didn't know why he was caring so much. Sure, she looked freaky with that chakra, but there was nothing else to it. It wasn't like he _cared_ that her body was going to be used for Orochimaru. It wasn't like he was _bothered_ to see her in a murderous state. It wasn't like he _wanted_ her to be out of harms way.

Shit.

He had to get her out of here.

* * *

"C'mon, Naruto, just let me help you with your tent!"

Naruto grumbled to himself as he struggled to take his tent down. He was still mad at Kiba for what he did, so instead, chose to ignore him and carry on failing. Kiba rolled his eyes as he surveyed the area. Kakashi said he had to do his 'business', and he'd been gone for a long time. His tent was still fully up, so, while Naruto constantly glared at Kiba for trying to intervene, he sighed and went over to Kakashi's tent, deciding that he would tidy that one away while Naruto attempted to do his.

Kiba stopped when he reached the opening of Kakashi's tent. He always felt awkward when going on a mission with him, because of those stupid orange books he takes everywhere. Who knew how many were inside this tent?

Kiba closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before entering the tent. It wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be. Kakashi must've take the book with him. He shuddered when he thought about the length of time Kakashi had been gone.

He shook the thought away and started to clear Kakashi's stuff up. He was packing things into his bag, until something caught his eye.

Kiba frowned and picked the object up, letting the chain fall between his fingers. Something wasn't right about this.

"N-Naruto …"

He heard Naruto grunt something, before a loud 'oomph' and a crash. "Just get in here, Naruto."

Naruto, noting the seriousness of Kiba's tone, narrowed his eyes and peered into Kakashi's tent. He looked at Kiba with a face mixed with confusion and irritation. Kiba sighed and opened his hand to Naruto, who's eyes widened as he took the object from Kiba.

"Sakura's necklace … where did you find this?"

Kiba bit his lip and pointed to a stash of spare shirts and coats. "I found it in the pocket of that coat. I thought she wore this everywhere with her."

Naruto nodded slowly. He and Sai had saved up money to buy her that necklace for her birthday one year, after she'd been feeling quite down. She loved it a lot; it became her favourite possession. Though she took it off for some missions, she always had it in her medic bag. She called it her 'good luck charm'.

Naruto was sure she was wearing it before she was taken … was she? He couldn't remember. His mind was all over the place. Even if Kakashi had her actual kit, she would've taken it out and put it in her spare one. She wouldn't have forgotten. So maybe he took it out? Maybe it got in the way of the medical stuff? Maybe he wanted to just keep it safe? Yet in the back of his mind, Naruto knew that there was probably a bad reason behind this. What if the Kakashi they've been around since the inn had been a clone, helping Kabuto get Sakura? What if he stole it to … he didn't even know.

Their thoughts were interrupted by branches snapping outside the tent, and both were quickly alerted. Naruto dived out of the tent and threw a kunai at Kakashi, who simply dodged it, a frown etched on his face.

"Jeez, Naruto, if you must know, I had to do a number 2. I didn't mean to take so long."

Naruto glared at him. If he was an imposter, he was a very good one.

Kiba came up to Naruto's side and glared too. Kakashi, confused, put his orange book in his back pocket and folded his arms.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm back now, and I'll finish clearing my tent out. No need to get so worked up about it."

As he began to walk over to his tent, Kiba put his arm out to stop him. Kakashi, beyond startled now, turned to face the boys, as Naruto held something out in front of him.

Kakashi's eyes widened with surprise, before looking at Naruto. "Naruto, why do you have Sakura's necklace? I thought she kept it with her all the time."

Naruto growled. He cursed for having such an ignorant teacher.

"I don't know, you tell us. We found it in _your_ tent."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at his student. "Why would that be in my tent? It has nothing to do with me."

"Then why did I find it in the pocket of your coat?"

"Why were you in my tent?"

"Because I-"

"AHA! So you're saying there _was_ something suspicious in there! Otherwise you wouldn't get so defensive!Who are you? What have you done with Kakashi!"

This time, Kiba also raised an eyebrow at Naruto.

"Look, Naruto, I get that you're tight on security, the whole 'no one can be trusted' thing. But I'm me. Maybe the necklace fell out of her medic kit when I was fixing you up. I don't know. Now, let me clear my stuff up so we can move."

Naruto glared for a little longer, before nodding to Kiba to move his arm. Kiba did so, and Naruto pulled him away as Kakashi went to sort his things out.

"Ow! What the hell, Naruto?"

Naruto smiled sheepishly, before bending towards Kiba's ear. Kiba listened intently, nodding every now and then, and Naruto finished, grinning like an idiot.

"Wow … that's … actually not a bad plan. Let's do it."

And with that, they waited for Kakashi to finish, in the meantime, getting Naruto's tent down properly (which was done in 2 minutes thanks to Kiba's help).

* * *

As her eyes opened, it took a while to adjust to light from the candle hanging on the wall above her. She squinted as she sat up, feeling incredibly weak for reasons she was unsure of.

She heard a cough, and turned her head towards the door. She saw a male figure leaning against the frame, and saw spiky hair. Through half-closed eyes, she said the first name that came to her head.

"Sasuke …"

She heard one chuckle, before the man moved closer into her room, light beaming on him now.

A purple outfit.

Grey hair.

Those damn glasses.

"Damn it …"

"That's right, Pinky. Your Prince Charming isn't here. It's only me. Though, you can still get your hopes up if you want."

Sakura ignored the last comment and narrowed her eyes at him. "What happened?"

"You don't remember? Well, because of you, Sasuke has had to move rooms. It's a shame, really, I think he quite enjoyed the one he had. You caused an awful mess, hell, you almost could've killed Sasuke. If I didn't get in the way, that is."

Sakura looked down at her hands. She didn't remember any of this … she remembered going to Sasuke's room, and remembered holding him against the wall … but, actually breaking it? She didn't even think her crazy strength could break it.

Something else flowed into Sakura's mind, and she looked straight back up into Kabuto's eyes, fiery and determined.

"Why am I Orochimaru's vessel? What's happened to me? What have you done to me?"

She would've got up and punched him senseless, but her body was too weak. She hated it. She growled at him as he walked closer, as if wishing for a death sentence.

"So you _did _hear … huh, I figured that's what your commotion would be about. You're a very nosey girl, you know that? And we haven't done anything to you. This is simply what's been inside you all along. Had to let it out at some point."

"But what is _this_? What are you hiding from me? What makes me special enough to be … to be _that_?"

Kabuto, knowing what _that_ was meant to imply, crouched down and smiled at Sakura. "You should consider yourself grateful. Orochimaru-sama doesn't just choose anyone. He wants you, for this specific reason. And he has you."

"What are you saying? What are you doing to me?"

Kabuto smirked and stood up, walking back towards to door. Without answering, he shut it behind him, and locked her back in.

"It means there's no escape."

Kabuto smirked and walked back down the corridor, passing Sasuke's new room on the way. His door was open, and Kabuto saw him reading on his bed, as if nothing had happened within the past hour. At the end of the corridor, he opened the door, revealing Orochimaru, sitting up, with questioning eyes.

"Was the noise what we thought, Kabuto?"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama. She overheard our plans and got angry. She went to take it out on Sasuke and that's when it happened."

"So …"

"Orochimaru-sama … she's ready."

* * *

Kakashi had finished clearing up his stuff, and the three shinobi glanced at the forest in front of them.

"Right then. Let's go."

"Wait."

Kakashi stopped and turned to Kiba, who was stroking Akamaru behind his ears.

"I can sense Sakura in two different directions. I don't know how. I think we should split up. You take Akamaru that way, and Naruto and I will go this way."

He pointed in opposite directions, and Kakashi looked at him, head tilted to one side. "Alright." He said uncertainly, and the moment that word was said, he and Akamaru were left alone.

"Well, guess it's just you and me. Come on, boy. Show me where to go."

Akamaru barked happily and began to ran.

"So, you really think this'll work?"

Naruto chuckled as he ran, and held his thumb up. "Of course it will! This plan is fool-proof, I'm telling ya!"

Kiba rolled his eyes and smiled, and they ran in silence for a while.

"I'm sorry, man."

Naruto looked at his brunette friend, and smiled sadly. "Don't worry about it, Kiba. It's annoying, but I probably would've done the same. It just shows your loyalty to her. And I respect that."

Kiba was startled at the seriousness of Naruto's voice, before breaking out into a grin. "Thanks. Good to know you've got my back again."

"Well, I guess I always had it. I just … would've shown it to the enemy if the time came, is all."

Kiba laughed along with Naruto, and after that they ran, once again, in silence.

About an hour later, Kiba heard a bark from his side. He jumped up at the moment Akamaru appeared underneath him, and rode on him the rest of the way.

"Neat trick." Naruto mused, running alongside Akamaru after refusing to 'cheat'. Kiba smiled toothily, stroking Akamaru in the process. "I know, right? Anyway, he's a good boy. He got Kakashi lost. He began to follow him but stopped. Must've lost sight or something."

Naruto punched the air in celebration, causing Kiba to laugh again.

"Hell yeah! Now, that imposter's gonna suffer in the middle of the forest, and we're gonna get to Sakura-chan and save the day! And, of course, bring Sasuke back!"

Kiba stopped laughing and took on a serious look. He saw how depressed both Naruto and Sakura were every time they came back from a mission to retrieve Sasuke empty handed. Part of him wished Naruto would just move on.

Stupid, stubborn Uzumaki.

* * *

Kakashi began to chase after Akamaru as the mutt skilfully turned and almost left without him noticing.

"Stupid dog. I can't believe they set this up."

Suddenly, an unfamiliar chakra presence appeared behind him, and he was just quick enough to avoid a kunai to the back.

He turned around and glared into the forest, still feeling the chakra coming from somewhere. "Come out. It's pointless trying to hide when I can sense you."

He heard a laugh – a female laugh – and a girl with long teal hair and dark blue eyes appeared before him, still laughing, as she swung a kunai around her finger.

"How very observant … not. You were _supposed_ to notice me. After all … I do thrive from attention." She smirked and Kakashi realised where he had seen this girl before.

"You … you're that Takara girl Naruto met …" He trailed off as he realised the stupidity of the blonde's actions. Of course she wouldn't be just your average girl. Of course she was a ninja. She clapped sarcastically, smiling as her head tilted to the side.

"Now you're getting there. Naruto? Is that his name? I figured it wasn't Akio …"

"Stop playing games. Who are you? What do you want?"

Takara turned serious, as she placed the kunai back in her pouch. "I'm here for a simple business. It's actually quite handy that they split up with you. I thought I would have to do that myself …"

She swerved as a shuriken flew by her cheek, barely missing. "Wow. You're impatient, aren't you? What I want is simple."

She performed some hand seals, before transforming into someone Kakashi never expected to see. His eyes widened at the sight of the woman in her Akatsuki clock, the smirk still apparent on her face.

"Konan …"

She smiled triumphantly, bringing out more kunai, holding a few in each hand.

"I want the Kyuubi."

**Okay, there we have chapter 11! I just wanna thank you guys, by the way, for my latest one-shot **_**Valentines**_**. I honestly wasn't expecting as much love as I got for it (seriously, 23 emails in just a few hours of all people favouriting and reviewing and alerting …) so yeah, thank you so much for that. It's you guys that made me write the next chapter of this.**

**Anyway, back to the story. Soooo, it's Sakura's necklace. Don't complain, I couldn't think of anything else. Sasuke's trying to deal with his whatever-they-are's for Sakura … this is gonna be fun. And Sakura has some insanely strong chakra when she's pissed. Also, she doesn't want to be a butt-monkey anymore (it's a **_**Buffy The Vampire Slayer **_**reference, if you don't know what I'm on about, ignore it :D). I don't like Kabuto. There's just … something about him, am I right? And Kakashi was tricked by the boys. In reality, that wouldn't be likely, but in my story, it is. I feel sorry for the guy. He must be so confused. Naruto and Kiba are talking again! Woohoo! I like them being friends, it's a much happier thing to write about. **

**Anyway, you found out some stuff about Sakura, and all that jazz. I think it's a pretty good chapter to come back to. I apologize if you've forgotten who Takara was again. If you need to remember, just go back to Chapter 6. It's her entrance. But yeah, now Kakashi knows she's actually Konan! Ohhh, Naruto's gonna be in so much trouble! Agh! It's gonna be fun to write :D**

**I enjoy writing the boys' bit, coz then I can be happier and funnier. Life around Sasuke and Orochimaru is just depressing xD**

**Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed! REVIEW! PLEASE!**

**Over and out!**

**-x-Emma-x-**


	12. It's Not Right

**I know. I suck.**

**This chapter is dedicated to:**

**_sasusaku-EienAi _(Masses of cookies for you, my dear)**

**_SilenceIsTheKey _(You can have cookies too.)**

_**Universal Fighter**_

**_LluNarEcLiPsE _(Who made me start writing this again)**

**For reviewing. It means a lot :)**

**I know it's been over a year now … and I'm sorry, and I probably won't get many people reading this anymore because I'm such a sucky person, but it's here anyway. Better late than never, right?**

**Anyway, enough babble, lets get down to business.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto, I do not own. Masashi Kishimoto, it belongs to. (Nice bit of Yoda there for ya :D)**

**Enjoy!**

_**Previously on 'The Wrong One' …**_

"_Konan …"_

_She smiled triumphantly, bringing out more kunai, holding a few in each hand. _

"_I want the Kyuubi."_

**Chapter 12: It's Not Right.**

Kakashi's visible eye widened at Konan's bluntness, as he quickly dodged a mass of kunai coming towards him. He lifted his hand to his face, pulling up the headband that concealed his Sharingan. He quickly grabbed his right wrist, watching the ball of electricity circulate around his palm, and charged towards the blue-haired woman.

Kakashi's arm reached out before him, and the millisecond before his chidori touched the hem of Konan's Akatsuki cloak, she disappeared into little pieces of paper.

"Shit!" Kakashi muttered, turning around to prevent a kick to the head. He grabbed Konan's ankle, twisting and throwing the woman into a tree.

Konan laughed at Kakashi's attempts. "Silly man, Kakashi. I expected better of the White Fang's son."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, his hands throwing multiple shuriken in Konan's direction. She skilfully evaded all but one which grazed her finger slightly as she grabbed it and threw it back at Kakashi. The white-haired man caught it, but not after it scratched his arm. He suppressed a hiss as Konan continued talking.

"It's simple. Give me the Kyuubi and no one gets hurt. Well, _badly_, anyway."

Kakashi glared, "Like you said, we're split up. What makes you think I know where he is?"

Konan laughed once more, the sound loud enough to echo through the forest. "You _are_ Kakashi Hatake, right? You'd be able to track him easily. Besides, I don't want to fight him just yet. This is our time."

"Screw the chit chat _Konan_. I'm not going to lead you to Naruto, and to be honest, he'll probably be killed by me before you ever get your hands on him."

Konan sighed and looked at her nails. "What happened to formalities? Chivalry is so dead nowadays." She looked back up at Kakashi, a smirk forming beneath the collar of her cloak. "I've gotta admit though, planting that necklace in your tent and making them suspicious was so much fun!" Konan watched in satisfaction as Kakashi's face changed dramatically as the realisation sunk in. "Well, I'll be off now. All this _chit chat_ is, quite frankly, sending me to sleep. I can't fight with my eyes closed. It wouldn't be fair … for you. Soon, chivalry won't be the only thing that's dead. Ciao!"

And with that, the blue-haired woman disappeared, leaving Kakashi alone in the forest. He thought back to what she said; _"Planting that necklace … making them suspicious …"_ Kakashi growled, concentrating on Naruto and Kiba's chakra.

"Idiots!"

* * *

Since her revelation about her 'hidden' powers, Sakura had stayed in her room for what she assumed was a few days. She refused to go out and train, and she refused to see anyone. _Especially _Sasuke. She would have refused to eat, too, but being a medic nin, she knew what she would face if she starved herself, and needed all the strength she could muster.

It seemed Orochimaru knew this would happen, as he hadn't told Kabuto to make any sort of acknowledgement she was there, other than passing her food through the steel door.

Curled up on the corner of her cot, Sakura thought about the past – how long had she been there? - week or two. Seeing Sasuke again definitely brought something back to her. The memories she had tried so hard to suppress were now overflowing, and the strength and confidence she had built during his absence was slowly slipping. Sasuke had changed, she mused, comparing the boy she used to know and the man she was in the same place with now. He was still cold, but when he trained with her, it almost seemed like he enjoyed himself. His range of vocabulary hadn't changed much, she noticed, when he was around Orochimaru and Kabuto, but when he had no choice, he spoke to her in almost full sentences.

The tiny spark that ignited when she first saw his face again was longing for the reasons behind his actions to be that he missed her, and that he was happy to see her again. However, that spark was soon trampled on when she thought about the reason she was here in the first place, and that he _knew _about what was inside her. He had always been clever, had he known since childhood that she was different? Did he recognise something special inside her and – she dared to think – was jealous by it? Was that why he constantly undermined her whenever she tried to talk to him?

Too many questions filled her head, and she tightly shut her eyes in an attempt to rid them from her head. Staying in this room was no good. She couldn't complain about all of the questions giving her a headache when she was the one refusing to get the answers.

She stood up, wobbling slightly from the lack of use of her legs, and headed for her door. She turned the handle, not surprised by it being unlocked, and wandered into the corridor.

She headed towards Sasuke's room. He was the one she needed to get the answers from first. Even if she trusted Orochimaru, chances are he'd probably lie to her anyway. But for some reason, she just knew that the Uchiha would provide her with the truth.

He owed her that much.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

Kiba sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Part of him wished that he and Naruto were still on bad terms, at least then the blonde wouldn't be so annoying.

"I said, are we there-"

"No, Naruto. We don't even know where 'there' is. Now stop talking, I'm trying to concentrate."

Naruto pouted and turned his head forward. The part of the forest they were running in looked exactly the same as every other part of the forest they'd been to, but this time Naruto felt … different. He wasn't sure how, but he just had a feeling that Sakura was nearby. That thought urged him to pump his feet harder, using more chakra than necessary to speed up. He heard Kiba's protests as he tried to keep up with him, but Naruto wasn't bothered. He just wanted to find Sakura.

Akamaru barked unhappily behind him. He sighed and slowed down a fraction, realising that he would still need some chakra left for when they found Sakura and potentially Sasuke, and he was running low as it was.

"Naruto, I get that you wanna find her, and you will. But you gotta think rationally, man. Don't waste your chakra. You're gonna need it later."

Kiba watched Naruto nod slightly and the two carried on in silence. He couldn't blame Naruto for being overly eager; he was just as anxious to make sure Sakura was alright.

As his thoughts drifted to the pink-haired girl, he couldn't help but smile. He knew he'd had feelings for the kunoichi for a while, and over time he accidentally let it become love. He wasn't sure how, or why, since their relationship was a lot like hers and Naruto's, more of a sibling kind, but he wasn't about to deny that the feelings he had were real.

Nor was he about to deny that he knew it wouldn't happen.

Kiba was often called stupid in many things, but he wasn't stupid when it came to Sakura. He knew that she would never reciprocate what he felt, and he knew that she could never give him her heart, because a certain Uchiha had stolen it when he left the village.

Kiba ran a hand through his messy locks. He was sure that Sakura would never love him back, and he was content with that. He would still be there for her, and look after her no matter what. The only thing that changed would be that she now knew how he felt. He didn't want her to feel sorry for him, he didn't need the pity, he just wanted everything to go back to normal.

The brunette's thoughts were interrupted when the two ninja heard a feminine scream a few feet ahead. The boys looked at each other before instantly running towards the person in danger.

* * *

Sakura stood at the empty room, blinking rapidly.

She returned to the room she had gone to when she found Sasuke (it wasn't that hard to find now) and opened it to reveal a whole lot of nothingness.

Except for the gaping hole in the wall.

Did she _really_ do that?

Sakura walked inside the room and stood at the hole. It led right into another room, and some of the debris had even hit the wall on the opposite side. She ran her hand along the crooked ridge she created. She had no idea about the power inside her, and something told her even Tsunade wasn't aware. But whatever it was, however she got it, Orochimaru knew.

And he wanted it for himself.

Sakura's fist clenched at the idea of becoming Orochimaru's vessel. He couldn't do it without her permission, right? Since she'd never give him her permission, he couldn't just _take_ her body, could he? Why was she giving herself _more_ questions to think about?

"You shouldn't be here."

Sakura scoffed, half expecting to see Kabuto, and turned around, to be partially shocked as Sasuke stood at the door, leaning against the frame, face as impassive as always.

"What's it to you? It's not your room any more, is it?"

Sasuke chuckled slightly and pushed himself off of the door frame. He walked towards her, before stopping inches away from her face. Although she had grown taller since he left, she was still a head below him, and he looked at her wide, green eyes as his breath fanned her face.

They stood like that for who knows how long, and Sakura's mind was going like crazy. Though she acted like she didn't care much any more, she knew deep down that she still loved the man before her, and having such a close proximity between the two of them was something she only dreamed of when she was a genin. Still, her heartbeat accelerated as he slowly bent down.

"I forgot this."

As Sasuke bent down, he opened a draw by Sakura's side and plucked out a book that he had forgotten to take when he switched rooms. He could see a slight tint of pink on Sakura's cheeks, but chose to ignore it, since he felt the blood rush to his face for the same reasons as her.

He wasn't sure what possessed him to get so close to her in the first place, and that moment of just staring made Sasuke see Sakura a whole lot better.

Maybe it was just his hormones.

Yeah, that was it.

He only felt (a tiny, little bit) attracted to her because she was the only female presence around for miles. Not including the redhead that guarded the prison cells, because she scared him with her fangirl-ness. Sakura was new, and refreshing, and, he couldn't deny, very nice to look at. His hormones got the better of him and he nearly did something he would (a tiny, little bit) regret.

He quickly stood straight again, holding the book by his face in order to conceal the oncoming blush, and turned around.

"Do you wanna do some training? Take you out of the base for a while?"

Sakura blinked, still unsure about what had just happened. She was certain she saw a small blush adorn his face, but it must've just been the candlelight making her see things. Maybe she should get out for a bit, "Yeah. Okay."

Sasuke nodded, and motioned for her to follow him to his room, and then head out. Orochimaru would murder him if he let Sakura walk outside by herself, or, he imagined he would, if he wasn't so obsessed with his need for a vessel.

As Sasuke threw the book onto his new bed, he showed Sakura where his new room was should she need (or want, as he hoped) to see him for anything, and they headed out of the base to a small clearing where he was often sent to train by himself.

His onyx eyes narrowed. He never particularly liked Orochimaru's form of training, and he was glad that the snake never seemed to intrude on his training when he was with Sakura. Having her to spar with was interesting, since she was a lot more versatile than her genin days, even without the chakra she should've had. Part of him wanted to be able to give her the amount of chakra she would usually have, but another part of him was glad, as, when she didn't have it, she still made him work hard to beat her.

"Why do you always take me out to train? I'm sure the base has plenty of sparring rooms to go to."

Sasuke stopped in his tracks. Without turning to face her, he simply replied, "Like I said. You shouldn't be here." before continuing to walk, leaving a wide-eyed Sakura frozen in her position.

She shook her head before jogging to catch up with him, a small smile gracing her lips.

_'He cares.'_

* * *

"Akio-kun!"

Kiba watched the girl before him sitting on the ground, staring at Naruto as if nothing else existed. He folded his arms across his chest and leant against Akamaru, observing as Naruto smiled and helped the girl up. She hugged him tightly and pulled back to look at him properly.

"I was so scared! I was taking a walk in the woods, like I always do at this time, and someone started chasing me! I was really scared, so I starting running and then the person started throwing knives and stuff at me! I managed to lose him but I tripped over this tree stump, and he found me, so I screamed, and then he disappeared just before you turned up!"

Naruto's eyebrows raised at the story, and Kiba scoffed at the thought that Naruto believed it. There was something off with this Takara girl, and whatever it was, Kiba didn't like it one bit.

"'Him'?"

It was only then that Takara looked at the brunette, and nodded, not once taking her hands off of Naruto's shoulders, "Yes, that's right. I could tell it was a guy because of his hair. It was spiky, and silver … actually, he looked a lot like that man you were with, Akio."

Naruto gasped, "No way! Kakashi wouldn't attack you! But … his _clone_ might …"

Kiba rolled his eyes, "Na- Akio, don't be an idiot. Clone or not, Kakashi wouldn't go after a _helpless_ girl. Not to injure her, anyway. She's fine, but come on, we need to keep going."

Kiba leaped onto Akamaru, who barked at Naruto. Naruto frowned and looked at Takara. She was pouting slightly, and was still holding onto him. "Akio-kun, I don't suppose you could help me find my way out of the forest, could you? I've never been this far in before, and I'm not sure whereabouts I came from … The guy hurt my finger, and if I'm alone, he might try to attack me again. Please?"

Akamaru growled at the girl, causing her to jump. Kiba smirked, "Sorry, he's not great with new people. I'm sorry … - Takara, was it? - but _Akio _and I really need to be off. It's important, and -"

"Don't be silly, Kiba, go on without me! I'll catch up to you. I gotta make sure Takara's safe. See you in a bit?"

Kiba scowled, "I don't think that's a good idea …"

"It won't take long, Kiba, I promise. He'll be back to you before you know it." Takara flashed the boy a dazzling smile, and watched as he sighed and nodded.

"Fine. But you better come back soon."

Naruto grinned and held Takara's wrist as he started leading her away.

Takara couldn't keep the smirk off her face as she heard Kiba take off behind them.

_'Perfect.'_

* * *

**Okay, I've already said I suck, so I hope this kinda makes up for it. Not as long as the last chapter, but I think it went okay. Got a bit of SasuSaku in there, too, so that's pretty cool. I'd like to once again thank _LluNarEcLiPsE _for getting me to write this again, it may have been a simple review, but it helped nonetheless. So thank you :) I'll definitely try to be more frequent with this now. **

**Also. NARUTO'S GOING OFF WITH TAKARA! Stupid, stupid boy!**

**Anyhoo, I hope you guys enjoyed this :) REVIEW! I promise it won't take over a year for the next chapter! **

**OH! Also, this story has officially broken my curse. I have a curse, where none of the stories I've written have gone past chapter 11, just because I could never think of storylines and I tended to give up. So YAY!**

**I'll shut up now.**

**Over and out!**

**-x-Emma-x-**


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